Liverpool beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor on Boxing Day, thanks to goals from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
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Liverpool’s squad depth played a crucial part
The Reds were without players such as Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas on Tuesday, but were able to use other members of the squad to claim all three points at Turf Moor.
Szoboszlai and Jones came on for Elliott and Gravenberch mid-way through the second period and played their part in keeping the score at 1-0, as well as driving the Reds forward in attacking areas.
However, the two main substitutions came in the form of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, with the latter assisting the former to secure the points less than one minute from time. With players such as these to come off the bench, Liverpool are considered to be well in this seasons’ title race.
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Burnley’s dismal home form continues
Burnley have particularly struggled at Turf Moor this season, picking up just three points from a possible 30 at home, scoring only 10 goals (five of those coming in their only victory against Sheffield United).
For a team, whose current sole focus is to avoid relegation, form like this isn’t going to get you very far. A huge concern for boss Vincent Kompany will be the fact that in seven out of these nine home defeats, the opposition have won by two or more goals; Burnley are not staying in games long enough to be competitive and pick up points late on.
However, despite Alisson not making a save, the home side did stay in the game for a long while and were killed off by the goal in the final seconds despite pushing well for an equaliser prior to Jota’s strike.
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The Reds are fighting on all fronts and are very much in title contention
Liverpool are still undefeated in the PL since the end of September, a run that stretches to 12 games with this victory. The Reds are also through the Europa League Round of 16 stages, the Carabao Cup semi-finals and have been drawn against Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup.
In terms of the Premier League, Liverpool have accumulated 42 points from 19 games, and currently sit top of the league. They are two points clear of Arsenal (who have a game in hand), three points ahead of Aston Villa, six points ahead of Spurs (who have a game in hand) and eight points ahead of the current champions, Manchester City (who have two games in hand).
In terms of personnel, Virgil van Dijk has been considered back to his brilliant best this season, the attack is free-flowing with lots of options to choose from and the three new midfielders, Szoboszlai, Endo and Mac Allister, although they haven’t played in a three all together all that often, have been vital additions to Klopp’s squad; midfield is where Liverpool fell short for large amounts of last season.
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Trafford and Odobert shine again for the home side
Two of Burnley’s standout performers in recent weeks have been goalkeeper James Trafford and exciting winger Wilson Odobert. Trafford, who was signed in the summer for a club record fee of £19million after impressing for Bolton in League One last season and at the Euro U21 Championships in the summer, had a tough start to life at Turf Moor, but he has grown in confidence as the season has progressed.
The 21-year-old made eight saves against Liverpool, including notable stops from Mohamed Salah, Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo in the first half to keep his team well in the game after Nunez opened the scoring early on.
In regard to young Frenchman Odobert, the winger completed the most dribbles out of any player in the match with six and caused Alexander-Arnold some real problems down Burnley’s left-hand side. The 19-year-old has been in impressive form in recent weeks, netting against Brighton and Fulham in December, while giving the Clarets some real impetus in wide attacking areas of the pitch.
Burnley’s next PL game doesn’t get any easier in the form of a trip to Villa Park, while Liverpool host recent strugglers Newcastle United on New Years Day.