HEADS UP, VAN DIJK
Liverpool defenders combine for winner
UNDERNEATH the red baseball cap that had sheltered him from the elements, Jurgen Klopp had one of those megawatt smiles.
Klopp had just been stood in front of the David Fishwick Stand where Liverpool’s giddy supporters were housed, when, suddenly, he spun on his heels and charged to Ragnar Klavan. He engulfed the Estonian in a bear hug and then did exactly the same to Dejan Lovren.
These two players are often derided, their suitability for Liverpool frequently questioned. But, on a filthy day in Burnley, they had emerged as the heroes. Klopp had hoped Virgil van Dijk’s £75million arrival would spark a response from Klavan and Lovren but he wouldn’t have expected this.
Deep into injury time, with Liverpool looking like they were about to squander two more points, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hoisted a free-kick to the back post, Lovren rose to head the ball across the face of goal and Klavan charged in to head his first Premier League goal over the line.
We are accustomed to Liverpool winning in flamboyant, free-scoring fashion but here was evidence they can do things the hard way, too. Klavan and Lovren epitomised the belligerence that was required to repel this season’s surprise package.
‘Maybe we didn’t have too much of these wins,’ said Klopp. ‘In all the (eight) draws we have had this season, we would have pretty much deserved to win. We need the wins on the not sunny days. It was a fantastic moment when we scored.’
Yet it was anything but fantastic for Klopp when Burnley had scored a similar goal of their own, through Johann Berg Gudmundsson, in the 89th minute, capitalising on some slack defending to cancel out Sadio Mane’s stunning strike.
It was an unexpectedly dramatic conclusion to a game that, for long parts, had been sterile and without incident, with dreadful conditions and the impact of two games in 48 hours taking their toll.
Liverpool tried to keep the ball on the floor but, without Mo Salah (groin) and Philippe Coutinho (thigh), they lacked fizz. Dominic Solanke, one of seven changes to the side that beat Leicester, deputised for Roberto Firmino but he found the going as heavy as the weather.
Adam Lallana also came in, and the England midfielder was hugely impressive in his first start of the season.
‘Outstanding’, was Klopp’s succinct appraisal. ‘Especially after we went 1-0 up, he played really good football. It is good news for us that he is back.’
Burnley had the best opportunity of the opening 45 minutes but, after Ashley Barnes had cushioned down a long ball from James Tarkowski, Scott Arfield’s shot drifted just beyond Simon Mignolet’s far post.
Then, after 61 minutes, came the move that was at odds with everything that had gone before. A ball out to the right allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold to surge away and fire in a cross that looked to be headed for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain until Mane stuck out his right leg and thrashed a left-footed drive into the roof the net.
Alexander-Arnold almost repeated the trick but Pope tipped his dipping shot tipped away.
Pope came to Burnley’s rescue in again in the 85th minute when denying Oxlade-Chamberlain from point blank range. The keeper had kept his side in the game and, four minutes later, Gudmundsson arrived on the blind side to bury Sam Vokes’ flick on.
‘I thought we had done enough to earn another point,’ said Burnley manager Sean Dyche. ‘Superb physically, tactically very good and I was particularly pleased with us defensively. So you can imagine how frustrated I am with a soft goal. It was a horrible feeling.’
But it was exactly the opposite for Liverpool. No wonder Klopp was smiling.