Liverpool entertained Burnley at Anfield earlier tonight hoping to pick up all three points at home. The Reds made a dominant start to the game but it was the same old story for them as they were toothless in the final third. Both sides went into the half-time with nothing to split them.
The Merseyside giants squandered some decent chances to score in the second 45 minutes which gave the Clarets a lot of confidence to knick a winner on the counter. Alisson Becker made an uncharacteric error and gave away a penalty in the 83rd minute which Ashley Barnes converted to give his team a famous 1-0 victory at Merseyside. The defeat ended Liverpool’s long unbeaten record at home in the Premier League, marking an end of a long and successful era at Anfield.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match versus the Clarets.
GK: Alisson Becker – 4/10
The Brazilian keeper made some solid stops at the back but ended up giving away a poor penalty. He couldn’t save the resulting spotkick which ultimately cost his side a point.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 4/10
The English right-back was defensively in sixes and seven. Offensively, he struggled to deliver a quality cross and wasted a couple of decent chances throughout the 90 minutes which goes to show just how bad he has been playing of late.
CB: Joel Matip – 6/10
The Cameroonian centre-back dealt with mostly everything that came his way but won’t be happy after shipping in a late goal.
CB: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian talent was not shy of fighting for the ball and showed great hunger to get forward. However, his performances levels faded towards the end of the game.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
Robertson showed great energy to get forward and managed to deliver some inviting crosses. But none of his teammates had their shooting boots on during the game.
CM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 5/10
The Swiss international didn’t know when to attack and when to defend. He failed to create anything meaningful in what was a lacklustre display from him at the centre of the park.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6/10
The Dutch midfielder kept the ball well for his side but failed to be a creative spark going forward.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 7/10
Thiago fed some decent through balls to the front players but was a bit late with his tackles.
RW: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5/10
He ran around a lot but to no great effect on the right flank and got replaced in the second half.
ST: Divock Origi – 4/10
The Belgian international wasted his team’s best chance in the first half when he was clean through on goal but only managed to hit the crossbar with his attempt. He hardly got a sniff at goal, otherwise.
LW: Sadio Mane – 6/10
The Senegelease winger tried to make things happen by running with the ball but lacked sharpness in the decisive moments of the game.
Substitutes:
RW: Mohamed Salah – 5/10
He squandered a couple of decent chances to score.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 5/10
The Brazilian looked like a striker out of form.
ST: Takumi Minamino – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
