Football News: Burnley Vs Liverpool: Review

Burnley Vs Liverpool: Review

We knew what this game was going to be, attack against defense. Burnley were organised, disciplined, and stuck to their gameplan from 1st minute until last. Liverpool enjoyed the lion's share of possession, lion's share of chances, but did not really create anything all that convincing. Once again we needed a late goal to clinch the points and you have to wonder how long we can keep riding our luck for.

Burnley:

They did everything you would expect, were incredibly disciplined, and in terms of carrying out a strategy were excellent. Sure dire to watch, but they are in a relegation battle: trying to play expansive football against Liverpool would have been foolhardy. They asked the question of Liverpool "Are you good enough to break us down? " - and the answer was just barely.

Without the red card it's arguable they would have held on comfortably. The first tackle was definitely a yellow card - the second one I'm not so sure. There hadn't been much of anything in the game and, put it this way, if the shoe was on the other foot I would feel aggrieved. The penalty was a correct decision, but unfortunate, and Burnley will feel like they played well enough to take a point.

Liverpool:

Lots of possession, but neither much of a clinical edge, nor clear cut chances. Monopolizing possession is pointless if you do nothing with it, and the amount of floaty, aimless crosses played into the box was mind-numbing. That and the endless amount of flicked passes that were attempted and failed because, well Burnley had a stack of players back at all times, were ridiculous.

Decision making and execution was way off today, and most of the players were average at best. Liverpool won, I am happy, but we can't bring levels like this to future games and expect to be bailed out by 16 year olds and penalties. The team needs to push itself harder and produce better quality, they seem flat and lifeless for large spells. The first half in this game was a perfect example of this, and it feels like a matter of time before it costs us.

Player ratings:

Alisson - 6 - I mean he had literally nothing to do. Swept up well and stayed alert.

Szobozlai - 7 - second best player on the pitch. First half he was as underwhelming as anyone else but second half he drove at them, looked to make things happen, and affected the game. He is one of the few to hit the ground running this season.

Kerkez - 3 - like a puppy off a leash, running around everywhere but without much rhyme or reason. The dive was embarrassing, and he was deservedly booked. Made a brain dead challenge after that and was rightfully hooked to avoid a potential red card.

Van Dijk - 6 - very little to do. Doninated in the air, distribution was fine.

Konate - 6 - very little to do. Handled the odd moments they did try to counter well, and his distribution was mostly decent.

Macallister - 5 - like most players offered comparatively little first half. On the end of a nasty looking tackle, and subbed off at half time with an injury. Looks rusty still.

Gravenbirch - 8 - our best player by a distance. Good in and out of possession, really smart turns and flicks, some decent attempts on goal, he made us tick.

Wirtz - 5 - not happening for him. Some good bits of play, but plenty of poor moments too. Zero space to operate in when a team like Burnley plays a 5-4-1, and he struggled to make a meaningful impact. Early days, but want to see more.

Gakpo - 6 - a mixed game, some good moments and had success on his side of the pitch, but a few issues like predictably cutting inside which opponents are starting to read, and some utterly dreadful crosses.

Salah - 3 - I say this without any hint of hyperbole, but the penalty was the only good thing he did in the game. I have never seen so many poor touches, bad passes, lackluster dribbles, etc from him. He is struggling badly, I hope he finds his form soon. Someone suggested that Diogo's passing could still be having a big impact on him, and honestly that would make a lot of sense.

Ekitike - 6 - he does a lot of good things, and I really like what I see from him. Today he had bright spells, but then struggled to really get involved in the game. Lots of passes and flicks, but nothing really telling, which was the story of our whole performance.

Subs:

Robertson - 6 - came on and immediately played better than Kerkez. Tried to get forward, defended comfortably, but didn't set the world on fire either. Should not be on corners either.

Bradley - 6 - immediately made driving runs forward, tried to pressure their backline, and "looked" dangerous. But only looked it, he has all the physical attributes, but his decision making, vision, etc sees him pick wrong options consistently. Needs to improve in this area.

Chiesa - 5 - had one decent chance he put wide, then did nothing much. Didn't do anything glaringly wrong, but you want a bit more from your subs.

Ngumoha - 6 - looked lively and dangerous from the get go, and did cause them problems. Also found a good pass for Frimpong who should've hit it first time. Has something the team seems to be lacking: pace.

Frimpong - 6 - came on, didn't do much, but did find spaces, and they did look worried when he had the ball. More to come I suspect.

Manager:

4 wins out of 4. How I don't quite know, but here we are. He will surely be attuned to the issues the team has, and I'd expect it to be remedied sooner rather than later. There's a lot of talent in the team now, but watching us you wouldn't always know it. You have to grind out wins to be champions, but can we win pretty for once?

Conclusions:

4 wins out of 4 - Wild - If we stop doing floaty, lofted crosses into the box for our next game I'll be delighted. If we keep winning, I'll be delighted too, hopefully in more comfortable circumstances. I'll take grit and luck if it gets us 3 points - how long can our luck last though?

Written by Seano_ September 14 2025 17:27:43