Liverpool Dig Deep For A Lifeline
Klopp and Firmino | Liverpoolfc.com
After beating West Brom with an injury-time goal from Alisson, the Reds had an equally stressful encounter at Turf Moor.
Clarets’ energetic pressing posed a challenge to Liverpool especially in the first half, with the Reds not always able to cope with the physical nature of the hosts.
Phillips and Rhys Williams did well against the in-form Chris Wood despite their relative inexperience at the back, with the former even proving capable of netting against the former.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was weakened by injury and rested for long periods, then scored a third with a fine finish, his first of the season.
Although it was Firmino’s strike that proved crucial in the final minute of the first half, his low finish after Andy Robertson’s pull-back had been the first effort on target for the visitors in a frantic first half.
Klopp’s side was not comfortable all week, but not much has been when they have gone nine games unbeaten, which has put them in a good position to salvage something from their season so far.
“It never is easy,” Klopp told BBC Sport. “I can’t remember an easy game against Burnley.
“What a job Sean Dyche is doing here. The way they play is so tricky to defend against. They are smart.
“Apart from a nervy start passing-wise, we had to adapt to the atmosphere in the stadium, but then we played really good football.”
After winning their fourth game in a row, Liverpool has now moved up into the top four, which is their longest winning streak of the campaign.
Unless Leicester runs riot against Tottenham and improves their goal difference significantly, one more win will be enough for Liverpool.
STAT: Roberto Firmino Alway Game-changing At Liverpool
Firmino scores and celebrates | Liverpoolfc.com
Liverpool has never lost any of the 14 Premier League games where Roberto Firmino has opened the scoring (W12 D2) – including their last 11 consecutive victories.
It is only the second time in Premier League history that a player has scored in three consecutive away matches at Turf Moor, after Anthony Martial. Indeed, Firmino now has as many league goals in his last three matches as he did in his previous 19 (3).
His first professional goal, both at Liverpool and at Stuttgart last season, came after his 20th appearance for the club across all competitions.
With Nick Pope out of goal for the Clarets’ last five Premier League matches, Burnley have conceded an average of 3.4 goals per match, compared to only 1.2 in the 70 games Pope has played for the Clarets in the top flight.
The only player with more Premier League assists since the start of the 2017-18 season than Liverpool full-back Andrew Robertson is Kevin de Bruyne (49) and the reds’ third-choice defender has assisted twice for the first time since April 2019.
