‘DIVING’ DAN ANGERS DYCHE
Tough tackles better than cheating raps Clarets boss
SEAN DYCHE has intensified Burnley’s row with Liverpool by accusing Daniel Sturridge of cheating.
Dyche defended his players after Jurgen Klopp slammed their tackling as the Premier League title hopefuls won 3-1 at Turf Moor on Wednesday.
Klopp claimed Burnley’s players needed to take more care with their challenges, despite admitting they were not fouls. Even so, Liverpool have confirmed that defender Joe Gomez suffered a leg fracture during the game and could be out for six weeks.
But Klopp’s words have drawn a stinging response from Clarets manager Dyche, who claimed Sturridge dived to win a free-kick in the first 15 minutes of the match. “He [Klopp] didn’t reference Daniel Sturridge’s cheating when he went down, nothing near him, and he got a freekick for it,” said Dyche.
“I watched Liverpool as a kid, I was a Liverpool fan growing up in the Seventies and they had a fantastic side, one with skill, will and a physical edge. Now if that has gone and been replaced by cheating, I’m absolutely happy to be old fashioned. There’s no way I’d want to
see good proper professionals challenging in the manner that ours did and replace it with cheating.”
Dyche, who was involved in an animated conversation with Klopp as they left the pitch at full-time, claimed he was baffled by some of the Liverpool manager’s post-match comments.
Klopp complained about Burnley’s tackling, saying: “After the first challenge, I don’t know who did it, a sliding tackle from six or seven yards, getting the ball, everybody likes it. I said to the ref, ‘It’s no foul but please tell them you cannot do that’.”
Dyche, however, claimed that the only tackle Klopp had any right to complain about was one from Phil Bardsley on Alberto Moreno.
“What I would say is this, and it’s important to register: there were some excellent tackles in the game,” said Dyche.
“The only one that was questionable was Bardo’s. Ben Mee’s was a fantastic tackle.
“I imagine a player who seems to be an honest player, in
Gomez, realised that.
“That was the message that we got after the match and we send him our best.”
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson was pleased by how well his side kept their heads in the face of those aggressive tackles from Burnley.
Henderson knew Burnley would be physical and was delighted by how well Liverpool stood up to them.
“You’ve got to expect that,” said the England international. “They’re fighting, though we all are.
“We knew Burnley were an aggressive team and they have got some good players. They want to win.
“I thought we reacted well. We kept playing the ball. If you lose your head, you can pick up cards. The focus was brilliant in terms of maintaining control and creating chances.”
Burnley had stunned Liverpool by taking the lead through Jack Cork but the Reds hit back to take the points with goals from James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri.
There were some excellent tackles