VAN DIJK EFFECT!
Klopp’s stoppers rise to occasion
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 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 slid in to bundle his first Premier League goal over the line.
We are accustomed to Liverpool winning in flamboyant, free-scoring fashion but here was evidence to show 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 87th minute, capitalising on some slack defending to cancel out Sadio Mane’s stunning strike.
It was also 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. The first half, especially, made for grim viewing.
Liverpool tried to keep the ball on the floor but, without Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho, who missed the game with groin and thigh injuries respectively, 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.
It said everything that the most notable moment of the opening 45 minutes was a brilliant tackle from Adam Lallana, who timed his sliding challenge on Gudmundsson to perfection as the Iceland midfielder looked to scurry clear. His first start of the season was deeply impressive.
‘Outstanding’, was Klopp’s succinct appraisal. ‘Especially after we went 1-0 up, he played really good football. He was enjoying the game. He was really strong in the beginning then average, then back to really strong again. It is good news for us that he is back.’
Burnley had the best opportunity of the first half 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, much to the Liverpool goalkeeper’s relief.
Things appeared to be following a similar pattern after the restart and one passage of play — which saw Emre Can hoist an aimless ball forward to Nick Pope, only for the Burnley goalkeeper to smash his clearance all the way back to Mignolet — had all supporters groaning.
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 Oxlade-Chamberlain until Mane stuck out his right leg.
His control was instant and before Oxlade-Chamberlain could throw up his hands in exasperation, Mane had thrashed a left-footed drive into the roof the net.
Liverpool looked to take control and Alexander-Arnold almost repeated the trick but Pope tipped his dipping shot away.
Pope came to his side’s rescue again in the 85th minute when denying Oxlade-Chamberlain from point-blank range.
Those interventions looked to be crucial when, 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,’ lamented 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.