Match report: Liverpool 1-1 Burnley
Andy Hunter was at Anfield to see Jay Rodriguez, Nick Pope and chums conspire to end Liverpool’s home dominance this season. Read on ...
Jurgen Klopp speaks: “We left the door open for Burnley,” he says. “We didn’t close it. We should have scored two, three ... four goals at least but we didn’t. In these types of situations against Burnley you can never defend 100% because the ref today left all these challenges [on Alisson, presumably] happen and when the ball came into the box it’s dangerous.
“That’s how they scored the goal. What Burnley did really well, they stayed completely in the game. They weren’t bothered about conceding chances minute after minute. They pretty much just did what they wanted to do. All respect for that, but on the other hand it’s frustrating, clearly. We should have scored much earlier.”
Sean Dyche speaks: “It’d be pushing it a bit,” he tells BT Sport, when asked if it was game Burnley might have won. “They’ve had chances as they do here. They were terrific, especially in the first half. They stay and they press and they don’t give you a breather. We felt that if we could just stay in it, as we did just about until half-time, we might find moments in the second half. And we did.
On Burnley’s improved second half performance: “It was a strange kind of game,” he says. “They had a lot of chances but there was a lot of ‘maybes’. We had that golden chance right at the end and we’ve created some really good chances today against a top side. Forget about the fact there’s nobody in here, this is still a very difficult place to come.
On his half-time team talk: “I just reminded of them of the fact, don’t wait for 1-0 down football. A lot of teams relax a bit when they’re 1-0 down. It seems a strange thing to say but they kind of go ‘Let’s see what we can go and do’. So I just reminded them of that. It’s very difficult because we were never going to dominate the ball, but we’ve done well.”
Nick Pope speaks: “We pushed on in the second half,” the Burnley goalkeeper tells suave and debonair BT Sport pitch-side reporter Dishy Des Kelly. “Really after they scored I thought we played really well. We created chances of our own and every set piece we looked dangerous, every ball in the box we looked dangerous. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go in for us at the end. After the goal we started to press a bit higher and make chances. It nearly worked.”
On his two outstanding first half saves: “It’s nice to be involved,” he says. “You come to big grounds like this you expect to be busy. Liverpool are Premier League champions for a reason so you’ve got to come here and be ready for action. I was fortunate enough to keep a couple out.”
Full time: Liverpool 1-1 Burnley
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! It’s all over at Anfield, where Burnley have got a well deserved point. Andy Robertson gave Liverpool the lead with a wonderful curled header, but several fine saves from Nick Pope kept Burnley in the game before Jay Rodriguez smashed home from the edge of the penalty area to earn his side a share of the spoils.
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90+2 min: Liverpool go forward, Virgil van Dijk picking out Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right flank with a wonderful pass from deep. He squares the ball for Mo Salah, who shoots straight at Nick Pope. Salah has missed several good chances today, which will be a source of great irritation for him in his quest for the golden boot. Off the top of my head, I think he’s two behind Leicester’s Jamie Vardy.
90 min: We’ll have four minutes of added time but will we get a winner? Burnley are edging it at the moment.
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89 min: Nick Pope is booked for time-wasting. Stop wasting time, Nick.
88 min: Phil Bardsley is booked after clattering through the back of Mo Salah.
88 min: Joey Gudmundsson smashes a shot off the bar after some pinball in the Liverpool penalty area following a Burnley corner.
87 min: Chances at either end as Jay Rodriguez is this close to getting his toe a cross from the right, before Mo Salah shoots straight into Nick Pope’s bread basket. There’s three minutes plus add-ons left, but I reckon we’ll get a winner.
83 min: Another cross into the Burnley penalty area by Trent Alexander-Arnold and there’s a penalty appeal as Gudmundsson brings down Robertson. He got the ball. No spot-kick.
82 min: Trent Alexander-Arnold curls a wicked cross into the Burnley penalty area from the right, but Kevin Long clears with a good header.
81 min: Liverpool substitution: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on for Gini Wijnaldum.
80 min: Joe Gomez is booked for a late challenge on Joe Gomez near the halfway line.
77 min: Naby Keita presses forward and tries to pick out Firminho in the Burnley penalty area. His pass is intercepted.
75 min: Liverpool go in search of their second, Robertson crossing low and hard from the left. Kevin Long hacks clear.
71 min: The last top flight team to win all their home games in a season were the mighty Sunderland back in 1892. Liverpool are good, but are they that good? Can they hold a candle to Victorian era Sunderland, with their monocles, pipes and top hats and ? We’ll find out in the next 20 minutes.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Burnley (Rodriguez 68)
A free-kick from deep, the ball’s knocked down in the Liverpool penalty area and Jay Rodriguez smashes home a low drive from the edge of the box.
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68 min: Gin and tonics all round as the players of both teams pause for drinks. Liverpool double-substitution ahoy: Neco Williams and Curtis Jones are clapped off by the virtual crowd after good performances, Naby Keita and Trent Double-A on.
65 min: Burnley double-substitution: Joey Gudmundsson and Matej Vydra on, Erik Pieters and Chris Wood off. Liverpool win a corner, which Nick Pope claims comfortably.
62 min: In the opposition penalty area, Gini Wijnaldum hacks at a ball that drops his way following a Liverpool corner, but his effort is blocked. Burnley are hanging in there doggedly.
60 min: A Fabinho shot from just outside the Burnley penalty area takes a wicked deflection off Josh Brownhill. It goes out for a corner, but could have gone anywhere, truth be told. Nick Pope was completely wrong-footed.
58 min: Rocking a newly acquired peroxide blond barnet, Divock Origi begins warming up on the touchline. It suits him in a way that Bobby Firmino’s purple rinse really does not do the Brazilian justice.
57 min: Jay Rodriguez, who I remain convinced is still at West Brom, brings a smart save out of Alisson. Offside.
55 min: Neco Williams tries to shimmy and a-shally his way towards the Burnley goal, cutting in from the right. He beats two defenders, but runs into an immovable object in the form of James Tarkowski.
55 min: Chris Wood tries his luck from distance but Alisson saves comfortably.
51 min: The man in charge of BT Sport’s crowd noise machine hits the button marked “Kop celebrates a goal”, but he’s a mite premature. From a great position just inside the Burnley penalty area, Curtis Jones fires wide.
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49 min: Still looking for his first Premier League goal at Anfield this season, Bobby Firminho looks a certainty to score into the empty Kop end until his low diagonal effort raps the foot of the far upright and bounces back into play before being hacked clear. So close! Good play by Mo Salah, who teed up the Brazilian on the left side of the penalty area.
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47 min: A good ball from deep from Virgil van Dijk looks to be arrowing towards Salah at the far post, but James Tarkowski glances a header out for a corner. The ensuing outswinger sails out of play before curling back into the penalty area. Goal kick.
Second half: Liverpool 1-0 Burnley
46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side. The champions lead by the only goal of the game but Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope has kept his side in with a shout with a couple of outstanding saves.
Half-time: Liverpool 1-0 Burnley
Andy Robertson’s excellent header separates the sides as they saunter off for the break at the end of an entertaining first half. Liverpool deserve their lead and could be further ahead but for a couple of outstanding saves by Nick Pope. It’s all to play for in the second half.
45+2 min: Another brilliant save from Nick Pope, who must have wrists made of titanium to keep out a Sadio Mane pile-driver that looked destined for the top corner with his right hand. That’s his second world class save of the game. Outstanding.
45+2 min: James Tarkowski heads away as Gini Wijnaldum tries to pick out Mo Salah with a ball over the top.
45 min: Liverpool corner, which Neco Williams takes. Erik Pieters heads clear as Tannoy Man announces there’ll be two minutes of added time.
44 min: Andy Robertson is playing a blinder today and drills another low cross into the corridor of uncertainty after leaving Erik Pieters in his dust down the left wing. Mo Salah looks likely to convert at the near post, but doesn’t quite get there in time. A let-off for Burnley.
41 min: Where others might capitulate, Burnley have responded well to going behind. They’re enjoying their best spell of the game and go close when Dwight McNeil intercepts a wayward cross-field pass from Robertson. Joe Gomez gets his body in the way and defelcts McNeil’s shot from the edge of the area out for a corner. From that set piece, Burnley win another, with Alisson getting increasingly frustrated with the way he’s been man-marked by two Burnley players on his own goal line at corners. Liverpool clear.
40 min: Virgil van Dijk stretches every sinew to intercept a cross looping towards the head of Chris Wood on the edge of the six yard box with his head.
37 min: Back to the goal, from the middle of the pitch, maybe 10 yards outside the Burnley penalty area, Fabinho spotted Robertson making a run up the inside right. He picked him out with a clipped pass and the Scot guided his header across the face of goal, past Pope and inside the far post. That was a brilliant header from a man who has clearly sobered up since his celebrations on the night Liverpool were confirmed champions.
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35 min: Burnley win a free-kick between the left side of the Liverpool penalty area and the touchline, but Ashley Westwood’s delivery is atrocious. Liverpool clear, the head of Andy Robertson making another decisive intervention.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Burnley (Robertson 34)
Well colour me red and call me Mystic Meg. Andy Robertson steers a wonderful header past Pope and inside the far post from a difficult angle.
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33 min: Burnley give the ball away inside their own penalty area, offering Mo Salah a route to goal. His shot is saved well by Pope.
31 min: The deadlock remains unbroken but you can’t help but feel it’s only a matetr of time before Liverpool score and potentially open the floodgates. Burnley are being over-run in midfield, where Josh Brownhill and Ashley Westwood are struggling. Young Curtis Jones has been impressive on the ball, moving it quickly and with no little precision.
28 min: Dwight McNeil takes the corner and it’s glanced away from goal, as Liverpool set off on the counter-attack. You can see the whites of Phil Bardsley’s eyes as he’s faced with the rather alarming sight of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Bobby Firmino running full pelt at him, but Charlie Taylor sprints back to put a stop to their collective gallop.
26 min: Dwight McNeil has better luck with his next cross, winning a corner off Neco Williams as he tries to pick out Chris Wood. Virgil van Dijk heads the inswinger out for another corner. Alisson protests to referee David Coote about some rough treatment he feels he was getting from James Tarkowski.
24 min: Burnley enjoy a rare spell of possession following drinks, but it comes to a rather abrupt end after a Dwight McNeil cross from the left is overhit and the ball sails out of play.
22 min: Salah and Mane go close to opening the scoring for Liverpool. A weighted Salah pass into the path of a Mane run into the penalty area is just a mite too heavy and both players gesticulate in exasperation as the ball rolls wide. It’s time for drinks after a lively opening quarter.
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20 min: Curtis Jones receives a pass in space in the Burnley penalty area. Instead of shooting first time with his left foot, he takes a touch and shoots with his right. His shot is fairly feeble and is deflected out for a corner.
18 min: Brilliant from Nick Pope, who does brilliantly to claw a Mo Salah shot from 10 yards away from the top corner. Salah couldn’t have hit the bouncing ball more sweetly after a bit of pinball in the Burnley penalty area, but Pope somehow kept it out. ALmost his entire body, apart from his hands, were behind his goal line as he controted himself to keep that shot out. Brilliant! Salah simply can’t believe he hasn’t scored.
17 min: Another cross from the left from Andy Robertson and the ball is teed up for Curtis Jones to have a pop. His shot takes a deflection off Josh Brownhill and Nick Pope gets down to save comfortably.
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16 min: Liverpool continue to dominate, but without creating much in the way of goalscoring opportunities. Burnley are a very clear second best here, but are coping well under pressure.
13 min: Bobby Firmino has a long range effort deflected over the bar after more good work from Andy Robertson down the left. From the ensuing corner, Liverpool win a free-kick just outside the Burnley penalty area, a little right of centre, for a Jay Rodriguez foul on Mo Salah. Mr Salah takes the free-kick, but sends his effort over both defensive wall and cross bar.
10 min: A long diagonal ball from midfield sends Andy Robertson on his way down the inside left. He crosses on the volley for Mo Salah, but the Egyptian is foiled in his attempts to head home by a terrific block from Kevin Long. Great attacking, even better defending.
9 min: Chris Wood looks ready to try his luck from the edge of the Liverpool penalty area, but a leaden first touch means the ball runs through to Virgil van Dijk before he can pull the trigger. The Dutchman lumps the ball clear.
7 min: Nothing comes of the corner and Burnley win a free-kick for handball. Spare a thought for poor Charlie Taylor - the Burnley left-back is on the ground hurt again, this time holding his crown jewels after another accidental collision. It’s been an eventful and not at all pleasant seven minutes for him.
5 min: Liverpool are enjoying the majority of the possession early doors. James Tarkowski puts the ball out for a corner, intercepting an Andy Robertson cross on the edge of the six-yard box after good work by Sadio Mane.
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4 min: Charlie Taylor is shoved by Gini Wijnaldum and goes down holding his face after colliding with the elbow of Neco Williams. It was a completely accidental coming-together and Taylor is fit to carry on.
2 min: Liverpool have lined up with Curtis Jones playing in the centre of midfield flanked by Gini Wijnaldum and Fabinho. Wijnaldum charges forward with the ball at his feet and tries to pick out Bobby Firmino to his left on the edge of the Burnley penalty area. His pass is intercepted by a Burnley defender and Nick Pope clears.
Liverpool v Burnley is go!
1 min: Referee David Coote blows his whistle and play gets under way, with Mo Salah getting the ball rolling after all 22 players take a knee. It’s rolled all the way back to Alisson, who plays it out from the back and there’s an early test for Burnley right-back Phil Bardsley, who plays the ball back to Nick Pope.
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Not long now: Burnley’s players give their Liverpool counterparts, the Premier League champions, a guard of honour as they march out on to the Anfield sward with You’ll Never Walk Alone playing over the Tannoy. Kick-off is just a few minutes away. One of those minutes will be spent in silence, in memory of the great Jack Charlton. RIP Big Jack.
Sean Dyche: “It’s a tough ask coming here,” says Burnley’s manager. “We know the kind of form these are in and what a season they’re having. You want to come here feeling right about yourselves and your own performance levels, and I think our performance levels have been good recently. We’ve had a pretty stretched squad and we welcome back Chris Wood today, so he gets a run out. We’ve got others who are on the bench and can at least start filtering back in. We are asking a lot of our players at the moment.”
Jurgen Klopp: “It’s just because we need them,” he says of the introduction of Neco Williams and Curtis Jones, in an interview with BT Sport. “Neco played 45 minutes at Brighton because Robbo cannot play all the games. He did well there and now he can play in his natural position on the right side. I’ve made the the changes because the others cannot play every game and the boys are good enough to allow me to make the changes.”
Farewell, Norwich: It’s been in the post for a while, but Norwich City’s relegation from the Premier League has been confirmed after their tonking at the hands of West Ham. Watford’s come-from-behind win over Newcastle United has also piled the pain on Aston Villa and Bournemouth, who are seven and six points adrift of safety respectively.
Liverpool v Burnley line-ups
Liverpool: Alisson, Williams, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Jones, Firmino, Mane, Salah
Subs: Adrian, Lovren, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Shaqiri, Origi, Alexander-Arnold, Elliott
Burnley: Pope, Bardsley, Tarkowski, Long, Taylor, Pieters, Brownhill, Westwood, McNeil, Rodriguez, Wood
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Gudmundsson, Brady, Vydra, Thompson, Dunne, Benson, Goodridge, Driscoll-Glennon
Referee: David Coote
Team news: Jurgen Klopp makes four changes to the team that started against Brighton on Wednesday. Curtis Jones comes in for the injured Jordan Henderson, while Fabinho, Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson are also back. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Trent Alexander-Arnold make way.
For Burnley, Chris Wood makes his first start since returning from injury, having got a run-out against West Ham. Matej Vydra drops to the bench.
🔴 TEAM NEWS 🔴
— Liverpool FC (Premier League Champions 🏆) (@LFC) July 11, 2020
How we line-up to face @BurnleyOfficial 🙌 #LIVBUR @JamesMilner is out as a precaution due to a slight muscle issue.
TEAM NEWS: Here's how the Clarets line-up @LFC today.
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) July 11, 2020
One change, as @officialcwood replaces Matej Vydra. pic.twitter.com/A2nDCuUOcD
Jack Charlton: There’ll be a pre-match tribute ahead of kick-off, following the great man’s death last night. A World Cup winner with England, Jack Charlton will always have a special place in this Irishman’s heart for the wonderful job he did in bringing us to our first three major tournaments. Charlton was not just admired and respected in Ireland, he was genuinely loved. Rest in peace, Big Jack.
Today’s match officials
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Referee: David Coote.
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Assistants: Marc Perry and Nick Hopton.
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Fourth official: Martin Atkinson.
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VAR: Chris Kavanagh.
Early team news
Another remarkable season in the career of Jordan Henderson has been brought to a premature end after the Liverpool captain injured his knee against Brighton on Wednesday. Having been forced to sit out Liverpool’s past three games, Dejan Lovren is available selection.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has no fresh injury concerns following his team’s midweek win over West Ham, but Ashley Barnes, Ben Mee and Matt Lowton remain sidelined.
Premier League: Liverpool v Burnley
Already crowned champions, Liverpool’s race to 100 points continues as they entertain Burnley at Anfield this afternoon. They’re eight shy of the target but may not have it all their own way against an obdurate 10th placed side that has won three and drawn one of their past four games, keeping their hopes of European qualification alive in the process. Kick-off is at 3pm, but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
