Burnley finally breach Anfield fortress

Liverpool’s record of 68 games unbeaten at Anfield comes to an end courtesy of a 1-0 defeat to Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

At kick-off, the champions were three points behind their fierce rivals. A victory would see them return back to the top courtesy of goal difference. The hosts had numerous chances to open the scoring, particularly when Divock Origi failed to take advantage of defender Ben Mee’s error at the back by striking the crossbar.

Nick Pope seems to be in contention for being England’s starting ‘keeper for the Euros this summer, and he proved that by producing a world class save to deny this season’s leading goalscorer Mo Salah an opportunity to add to his tally.

The visitors showed resolve throughout the game and it was rewarded in the 83rd minute when Alisson Becker, who has undoubtedly been Liverpool’s best player of the season thus far, brought down Ashley Barnes in the penalty box. Barnes managed to convert the penalty with seven minutes plus stoppage time remaining.

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Home record diminished, problems ahead for Klopp’s Reds.

This loss sees the defending champions slip to fourth, six points behind leaders United. The biggest concern for Klopp is the lack of goals. Since the 7-0 victory at Crystal Palace, the Reds have only scored six goals in their last six games.

It seems as if someone has pressed the pause button on Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino’s goal scoring machine. The trio had been banging in the goals for the Reds in the previous three seasons, but apart from third round victory in the FA Cup, they have failed to find the net in four of their last five games.

The other issue is at the back, where Klopp has lost his most reliable defensive pair in Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk both due to knee injury. This means that the German has had to go with a makeshift duo of Fabinho and captain Jordan Henderson, who have done a reasonable job thus far, but not having their most reliable pair at the back.

This has made the Reds a little anxious in the sense that they have to look for more goals in order to make sure the match is won, and that type of anxiety can lead to a break down in form in terms of performance.

Liverpool faced United again in fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, where they succumbed to a 3-2 defeat. They now have a midweek trip to Spurs in the Premier League. Can they get back to winning ways or will Mourinho’s men put another dent in their quest to defend their title?

[Columns]”Cats” 527  Liverpool _Burnley Breach Anfield Fortress heading =”Premier League”

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