Everyone knew Scott Parker would set up Burnley in a low block and look to frustrate Liverpool with a suffocating lack of space in the defensive third. Liverpool created plenty of shooting opportunities, but struggled to find clean looks throughout the first half. Arne Slot made some personnel changes that saw the Reds up the aggressiveness and speed of play in the second half, but it still took a very late penalty for Liverpool to finally break through and take the win. Below, we take a look at some winners
and losers on the night, and attempt to disentangle narrative from fact.
Winners
Ryan Gravenberch
With Burnley playing extremely deep in a low block, the holding midfielder was able to play much further up the pitch than we usually see. Gravenberch’s silky smooth play around the top of the box offered Liverpool a creative element as he was involved in plenty of attacking action. Gravenberch had four shots and four key passes on the day to lead the team in shot involvements. He also has three successful dribbles.
Andy Robertson
Robbo was fantastic after coming on as a first half sub for Milos Kerkez. There was little defensive work to do, but the Scot took advantage of the space provided from wide areas against Burnley’s low block to get involved high up the pitch. His deliveries were solid, sending in several whipped crosses as well as a couple of nice cut backs, finishing with a team leading five key passes. He also has a rare shot on target.
Conor Bradley
The young right back made his first appearance of the season after dealing with an injury, stepping on as a sub in the second half. His introduction saw an immediate uptick an positive attacking play with his aggressive forward runs with or without the ball and his willingness to get into the box.
Florian Wirtz
The German attacking midfielder is an electric talent that was brought into the club for a large sum of money. He has struggled to have the immediate impact many thought he would, but he is becoming more and more influential for the Reds. There are still some slight timing issues with the final ball, but Wirtz really began to show off his drive and creativity in the second half of the match against Burnley. He finished with 3 shots and for key passes, and came very close to unlocking the Clarets as they packed bodies into the box.
Late Magic
For the fourth time in four matches this season, Liverpool needed a bit of late magic to take the win. In each case, it was a goal after 80 minutes that sealed the deal. This time it was Jeremie Frimpong earning a penalty when his shot was blocked by the arm of Hannibal Mejbri, with Mohamed Salah converting from the spot in the 95th minute.
Mohamed Salah (Statistics)
Mo scored yet again, giving him 188 Premier League goals. He has now passed Andy Cole to move up to fourth on the all-time list. Salah reached the number in a staggering 109 fewer appearances than Cole.
Losers
Milos Kerkez
The Hungarian left back earned a yellow card for a pretty blatant dive in the 22nd minute and put himself in a position to earn a second yellow card on a couple occasions shortly after. He was subbed off in just the 38th minute.
Mohamed Salah (Open Play)
It was not a banner day for the Liverpool legend. Salah struggled to have an impact on the ball, losing possession in 1v1 situations several times. He also missed badly on several passes and crosses into the box. He did score the winning goal to win the game, but it was one of the few positive moments for Salah.
Coward Ball
Scott Parker set his side up with no thought of trying to win the match, his were playing with a complete focus of trying not to lose. Burnley finished the match with a total of 81 passes completed and less than 20% of possession. They did manage a whopping 3 shots for the match with none on target (or even really approaching the target), producing an expected Goals on Target value of 0.00.
Dissecting the Narrative
Much hay can and will be made out of Liverpool needing late heroics to beat a side many have tabbed for relegation. The match highlighted some of the same slight mismatches in thought processes and movements that we have seen throughout the early season matches as key players like Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike are getting integrated into the attack as Liverpool are also playing a different shape in the attack. While it feels frustrating to be half a beat off, it is apparent that the players are starting to figure it out as they settle into the new patterns of play. That fact that Liverpool have made it through with unblemished record against a very difficult opening round of fixtures while they are still figuring things out is quite impressive.
What Happens Next
Liverpool will return home for a stretch of three matches at Anfield over the course of a week. The Reds will open Champions League play on Wednesday against Atheltico Madrid before a Merseyside derby next Saturday. A match against Southampton in EFL cup play will round out the raft of fixtures the following Tuesday.
