Report by
Dave Usher
There’s nothing quite like a stoppage time winner is there? It’s always sweet, but this one felt sweeter than most for several reasons. It was also fitting that it was Lovren and Klavan who combined for the winner, because had we thrown away two more points from a winning position the defence would once again be getting hammered even though those two had been our best players.
This was a horrible game in horrible weather against horrible opponents. Our performance was horrible too. It’s the worst we’ve played since the Spurs defeat and it’s probably the only occasion this season where you could perhaps argue that we got more than we deserved. We couldn’t have complained about a draw because we didn’t do enough in attack to win the game and Burnley had a few near misses.
Again though, that makes it all the more enjoyable. To win it so late, and so soon after conceding an equaliser that must have been a real gut punch to the players, makes me suspect that this result probably meant more to the players than any other we've had this season. They didn’t play well but they battled hard throughout but it looked like they’d blown it again, so to then pick themselves off the floor and win the game all over again must have felt incredible for them, especially as so many of our top players weren't out there.
There are some things this bunch can be criticised for, but they rarely let their heads go down when they suffer setbacks. As an example, many teams would have lost at Arsenal after conceding three in four minutes but they regrouped and forced an equaliser. Then having conceded so late against Burnley they could have found themselves hanging on for a point, but instead they took control again and forced a winner.
Winning when you play as badly as this is a great feeling because it so rarely happens to us. Some teams *cough* the Mancs *cough* win loads of games when they look shite, but we almost never do it. It's partly because we hardly ever play this badly, which has to be seen as a good thing, but usually if we don't play well we don't win, and often when we do play well we still don't win.
We were shite for most of this game, I don’t know exactly why that was but it was most likely a combination of things. The number of changes Klopp made did not justify such a poor performance on its own. The poor playing conditions didn’t either. The quick turnaround from the last game wasn’t ideal and the notoriously difficult style of the opposition was a factor. None of those things in isolation would explain how poor we are, but all of them combined probably does.
We were really bad, especially in the first half. It was just dire. The midfield played like crabs and the forwards were not assertive enough. Mané actually looked disinterested and his body language was awful, but it turns out he’d been ill and probably wouldn’t have played if Salah and Coutinho had been available, so he gets a pass for that, particularly as he scored.
Ox was only marginally better and at least had a shot on target in that terrible first half, but he too wasn’t doing enough for me. My boy Solanke couldn’t get into the game either, although it is a little more difficult for him as he’s partially reliant on others creating opportunities for him.
The one chance that did come his way quickly went begging after a heavy touch. He desperately needs a goal, but he’s looked far more likely to get one when he’s come off the bench than he has when he’s started games. Might be an idea to give Danny Ings the start next time Firmino is rested? Keep Dom coming off the bench until that goal finally arrives. I've seen quite a few people questioning him but I'm not worried about him at all at this stage, I still think he's quality.
Speaking of quality, Lallana was finally back in the starting line up and while he was neat and tidy and put in a shift, he wasn’t really a factor in the final third. His best moment came with a last ditch sliding challenge to halt a dangerous Burnley counter attack. It\s great having him back though and hopefully he stays fit now until May, as he's a massive player for us.
The best chances of the first half probably came Burnley’s way, but in reality they didn’t really trouble Mignolet as they never hit the target. It was frustrating though because as poor as Burnley were, referee Roger East kept helping them out by giving them soft free-kicks which allowed them to pose more of a threat than they otherwise would have. Both teams were poor on the day but the referee was worse, he gave us nothing all day, the Voldemort looking cunt.
That Ashley Barnes is a horrible fucker isn't he? He must be a nightmare to play against as he’s constantly fouling defenders while making it look like he’s the victim. He was backing into Lovren and then just hitting the deck, and every time the ref was duped by it. Burnley’s best chance of the half came when Barnes just jumped right into Lovren to prevent him heading the ball away, and Arfield latched onto the loose ball and shot just wide.
Barnes is like Mark Hughes without the talent. All he does is fight and scrap and niggle and foul, but I admire him in a way because he’s making the most out of the limited ability he has. He’s a perfect fit for that Burnley team though, he epitomises everything that they’re about. Sean Dyche must fucking love him.
I don’t like how Burnley play but I can’t knock it because it’s got them into 7th place, and let’s be honest, how else is a club like Burnley ever going to get that high in the table? They’re playing to their strengths and good luck to them for that. The constant tonguing of their balls by the media doesn’t sit particularly well though, nor does the lauding of Dyche as some ‘next big thing’ manager.
He’s done great at Burnley, I'd even go as far to say he's done as well as perhaps anybody else in world football could have done (unless there's someone out there you believe could get them in the top six?). I’m taking nothing away from the work he’s done there but anyone who thinks that style is translating to a club with ambition and money to spend is clearly on crack.
But I digress. I'm not gonna lie, at half time I was pretty pissed off at what I’d seen. I had known it would be a difficult game but nevertheless I expected more from our players. The two centre backs had been good, Gomez had done well and Can and Trent were at least having a go even if they were occasionally sloppy in possession. The rest were massively underwhelming though and I felt as though Klopp was going to have to really tear a strip off them.
Whether he did or not I have no idea, but the second half was better. Not straight away though as it began in very much the same sloppy fashion and only really picked up after we scored. The goal highlighted what we hadn’t been doing previously. There hadn’t been enough urgency and players weren’t forcing the issue. It was too passive, but then all of a sudden Oxlade-Chamberlain showed great determination to win the ball in his own half, turned upfield and surged forward before knocking the ball into space for Trent.
His cross looked to be heading right into the path of Ox, who had continued his run into the box, but Mané took it off his toes before turning and smashing it into the top corner with his left foot. It was a fantastic strike and more than made up for how poor he’d been prior to it.
For the next ten minutes or so he looked more like his old self before Klopp replaced him with Firmino. At the time I thought that was a little strange as Solanke was the more obvious choice to be hooked. I assumed it was with an eye on Friday’s cup game with Everton, but having since learned that Sadio had been ill, it makes much more sense. He was probably shattered.
As a sidenote, I noticed in his post match interview that Klavan seemed to be full of cold, so you have to wonder just how many of the team were a little under the weather.
Anyway, it looked like we might get the killer second goal as we were playing quite well now. Ox went closest with a powerful drive after being set up by Solanke, but the keeper showed an incredibly strong hand to keep that one out. Initially it looked like it hit the post, such was the velocity with which it came back out. The keeper also denied Trent with a fine save from the youngster’s terrific 25 yarder.
We couldn’t get the goal that would give us breathing space though, and we all knew what to expect in the final ten minutes as Vokes was brought on and the aerial bombardment commenced. Klavan and Lovren stood strong but with five minutes left the pressure was building and I looked at the clock and thought ‘we’re not going to see this out’.
They were getting too many balls into the box and it felt inevitable that eventually something would fall for them. I’m not even being critical about that as it’s really difficult to stop teams putting the ball in the box when that’s quite literally the only thing they’re trying to do. Doesn’t matter where it is on the pitch, it’s getting launched.
The keeper was taking all their free-kicks and they were throwing all the big men forward, but for the most part we defended it very well. It only takes one lapse though, or one good ball in. The goal was scrappy but I felt as though is was more down to bad luck than anything.
I'd say that Ox should have done a better job preventing the cross, but after that it’s difficult. Klavan has no real chance of stopping Vokes winning the header, and although it looks bad on Gomez that he’s caught flat footed and his man sneaked in behind to score at the back post, I’m not sure there’s too much he could do to prevent it.
The reason I say that is because he’s holding the line from the initial header from Vokes, while Gudmundsson has already started to gamble and run off the back of him. Gomez doesn’t know where the header is going so doesn’t commit himself to the runner and by the time the ball flashes past him the Burnley player is at full pelt, has the run on him and heads in.
Gomez is partly responsible, sure, but it was nowhere near as clear an error as the ones he made at West Ham and Arsenal and aside form that he had another terrific game. The goal was a huge kick in the balls though and I’m sure we were all preparing our forum posts and tweets about ‘typical Liverpool’ not being able to hold onto a lead. And then the narrative changed again.
Big Sexy picked up possession in his own half and decided to just drive forward with the ball. Defour tried to trip him, missed, and then tried to just fucking boot him. Again, he missed, but that was naughty and should have earned him at least a yellow card. Bardsley then came in to finish the job and flattened Emre. Again, no yellow card, but justice was served anyway when Ox floated in the free-kick and Lovren produced a fucking brilliant header that may have been going in anyway before Klavan dived in to make sure.
Lovren deserved the goal and it would have been a nice moment for him, but Ragnar is a wily old pro and he did the right thing in making sure it went over the line as for all he knew it could have struck the post or been cleared by a defender.
It was a great moment for them both, as they are the two most likely to be affected by the arrival of Van Dijk. Klavan’s form this season has been really solid and consistent, while as I mentioned in the Leicester report Lovren has been very impressive of late.
I’m not drawing any long term conclusions from that and won’t be the least bit surprised if and when he has one of his meltdown performances, but credit where it’s due, he’s playing well and he was fucking boss in this game. He strapped on his big boy pants and stood up to everything Burnley threw at him. He’s my star man, just ahead of Klavan.
The only points we've dropped from the four festive games were the two at the Emirates, so all in all we've done really well, especially considering the amount of rotation we've seen.
The wheels came off for us this time last year so hopefully lessons have been learned from that and we can keep the rig on the road this time. Fingers crossed that Salah and Coutinho will be back for Everton on Friday, as there's some serious payback to be dished out in that one.
Team: Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Klavan, Gomez; Can, Wijnaldum, Lallana (Milner); Mané (Firmino), Solanke, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Matip):
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