Football News: Liverpool v Burnley

Liverpool v Burnley

Putting aside the result, though that is the important thing after all, there is a lot to be disappointed about in this match from a Liverpool point of view. For starters, the Anfield crowd was incredibly subdued, despite this being the Klopp farewell tour. Klopp deserves a better send off than that! This is a team fighting on all fronts still, with four trophies still up for grabs and yet the fans did nothing to roar them on. This is a big piece of history taking place in front of their eyes, they can be the difference when the team is struggling.

And, make no bones about it, at points in this game Liverpool really were struggling. It seems to be a common theme this season, start slowly with a lack of intensity and it becomes a real struggle to get the right result. How much of that was down to the flu bug that had swept through the camp and forced Klopp to make a lot more changes to the team than I am sure he would have liked to make, is difficult to judge. It certainly seemed like a lot of the players seemed a bit listless and struggling for energy at times, though that could have just been down to the lack of intensity in the team play. For me, that was not helped by the centre-back pairing, who are very similar, very laidback, almost lackadaisical at times. They set the tone for the slow, laboured play by rolling the ball about at the back at times, allowing Burnley to apply the press. This is when Henderson is missed, to give them a rollicking and wake them up. It is good, most of the time, having that calmness at the back, and both defenders are certainly good enough, singly and as a pairing, but when the opposition is pressing them, they need to look to move the ball more quickly.

That was the biggest problem, Liverpool created all their own problems, again, by allowing the opposition to press them, playing the ball around far too slowly and inviting more pressure on. The performance did improve in the second half and the team did enough to win the game without having to play well, which is hopefully a good sign. They will need to be better if the season is to be the success Klopp deserves to enjoy in his final season with the Reds. As Arsenal showed, a lack of intensity will be punished by the better teams in the Premier League. Burnley are not one of those though, so this performance was more than enough to beat them.

Burnley look a much better team going forward than they were earlier in the season, the addition of…