Heroes make their home at Turf Moor
BURNLEY 2 Vokes (2), Gray (37) LIVERPOOL 0
THE signs were there before kick-off. Twice in 15 minutes, Turf Moor’s DJ delved into his collection and put David Bowie’s classic Heroes on at full volume.
Should Burnley keep playing in the indefatigable manner that saw them bring Liverpool crashing back to earth, that is what Sean Dyche’s squad will become.
Their third crack at trying to get established in the Premier League is up and running after a thumping afternoon in East Lancashire.
Burnley, thanks to first-half goals from Sam Vokes and Andre Gray, rose to the occasion and, inspired by the class of new record signing Steven Defour, never looked like losing once they had grabbed the advantage. Liverpool had the ball, Burnley took the points.
‘Possession does not win a game,’ said Dyche, afterwards. ‘This win will clear our minds. We know there is work to be done. We are still in the market and we keep trying to improve. They want big names here and to see Premier League football.’
A tremendous noise greeted the home side as they bounced out of the tunnel. Within two minutes, the din became even louder.
Nathaniel Clyne gave the ball straight to the lurking Gray, who passed the baton on to Vokes and with Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren back-pedalling, the Wales international smashed a drive from 18 yards that fizzed beyond Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool’s players were bemused, passive and, though they had 78-per-cent possession in the opening 45 minutes, never once did they threaten to find a way past Tom Heaton.
Too often Adam Lallana found his forays towards Burnley’s area blocked off, while Philippe Coutinho had one of those games that drive his critics to distraction; every shot he hit ending up going high and horribly wide.
Coutinho, however, was by no means Liverpool’s worst offender. Daniel Sturridge, for instance, performed in a manner that could be best described as enigmatic, the highlight of his 64 minutes being a left-footed drive that thudded into the advertising hoardings.
It was his error, too, that left Liverpool with a mountain to climb in the 37th minute. He dallied on the edge of Burnley’s area and was pounced on by Stephen Ward, who pilfered the ball off the striker and set Defour galloping free. He then found Gray, who found the corner of Mignolet’s net.
‘The first half was not good for our self-confidence,’ said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. ‘We lost our timing, our patience in offensive situations. We were really not good.’
Liverpool were not much better in the second half, either. For all the passes, from side to side, they never looked like forcing their way back into the contest and Burnley were comfortable, tackling, blocking and snuffing out any danger.
Come the final whistle there was another airing of Heroes. They just have to make sure now it is for more than one day.