Burnley 0 Liverpool 1
Liverpool's plan to climb out of mid-table mediocrity and into the top four is up and running thanks to a decisive finish by Raheem Sterling that enlivened a forgettable game. With just seven wins from 18 league matches there is still work to do in the second part of the season but at least they made a start at Turf Moor, playing a patient game that gradually wore down Burnley's resistance.
In the first half especially Liverpool were a long way from irresistible but they kept possession better the longer the game went on and in Sterling they possessed a the sort of match-winner Burnley would dearly love at the moment, someone capable of seizing on the most fleeting of opportunities and taking full advantage. This is not the easiest of grounds to visit for teams low on confidence and Brendan Rodgers will have been pleased to earn three points, particularly as the Liverpool goalkeeping saga took another unexpected twist after 16 minutes when Brad Jones's "indefinite" stay between the posts came to an end.
The Australian appeared to pull a thigh muscle taking a kick, was unable to get anywhere near a Danny Ings shot that struck the foot of a post in Burnley's first attack of any note, and seconds later Simon Mignolet was sent on in his place. The Belgian's confidence does not appear to have been improved by the events of the past two weeks. He sliced his first clearance towards the touchline and took so long over his second that Ings almost charged it down. Unsurprisingly, he had the home crowd on his back after that, every time the ball came his way.
Mignolet and his defenders reached the interval without further incident, though by the end of the first half Burnley were doing almost all the attacking, with an Ashley Barnes header and a George Boyd shot the closest they came to opening the scoring. While Liverpool began brightly enough, with Sterling finding plenty of space and Philippe Coutinho picking him up with pinpoint passes, by midway through the first half the new 3-4-3 system was not looking quite as slick and effective as previously. Too many passes were going astray, Lazar Markovic was unable to bring his pace to bear on the left, and Sterling and Coutinho became too isolated to cause Burnley problems. Adam Lallana did bring a save from Tom Heaton but it was just about all the Burnley goalkeeper had to deal with in the first half.
The second half was proving even more stodgy than the first until the deadlock was broken just past the hour. Neither side was creating any chances and Burnley were perhaps just starting to think a point might not be the worst of outcomes when Coutinho and Sterling combined in an instant to create a goal out of nothing. All it took was a lofted prod forward by the former for the latter to run on to, and Sterling’s pace did the rest.
Just about managing to stay onside, Sterling turned into space and took the ball round an overcommitted Heaton to slot the ball into an empty net in front of the Liverpool supporters in the Fishwick stand. There was still time for a little more goalkeeping drama, Mignolet letting a back pass roll out for an unnecessary corner when he had all the time in the world to clear it, but Burnley were unable to take advantage. Although Sam Vokes made a welcome return for his first appearance of the season Ings found little space in which to work and Burnley were unable to put a clearly vulnerable Mignolet under any sustained pressure. For a team in their position that has got to be a worry.
(Guardian Service)
