Liverpool continued their winning run with a shaky but ultimately commanding 1-0 win at bottom side Burnley. Africa Cup winner Mané was involved in the decisive scene on his anniversary.
Liverpool FC go into their Champions League last 16 tie against Inter Milan on the back of six straight competitive wins. On Sunday afternoon, the Reds kept the run going in uncomfortable circumstances at bottom-of-the-table Burnley FC.
Africa Cup winner Mané was in the starting eleven for Liverpool, although Jürgen Klopp had actually scheduled him as a wild card. But because Diogo Jota was struggling with a horse-foot, the coach preferred to put the Portuguese on the bench instead – and was not to regret the decision.
Mané, in his 250th Premier League game (103 goals), was by far the most striking Liverpool player in a troubled first half. In rainy and, above all, windy conditions – the corner flags bent, at times stationary balls simply rolled away – Burnley managed to get behind the Liverpool back line surprisingly often.
Weghorst fails one-on-one – Mané prepares Fabinho goal
The best chances for the hosts, who have been without a win since October, were missed by Weghorst (22nd) and Rodriguez (28th). The ex-Wolfsburg player failed miserably in a one-on-one with Alisson after a counter-attack, which was only created because Weghorst had pulled Salah’s leg away from the preceding Liverpool corner. Despite a VAR check, Liverpool were denied a retrospective penalty.
On the opposite flank, Pope made two strong saves – against Keita’s 16-yard low shot (21st) and Mané’s drop-kick from a free-kick cross (29th) – but was eventually beaten: Mané stole away from Mee and extended Alexander-Arnold’s corner into the five-yard area, where Fabinho showed the most assertiveness (40th). The six-pointer scored his fifth goal in his eighth competitive game in 2022.
After the break Liverpool calmed down the game – Weghorst out injured
Even with a fortunate lead behind them, Liverpool did not look more confident after the break, with a lack of concentration creeping into the second-placed side’s play time and again. Klopp reacted by bringing on Thiago (for Henderson, 59.), and his team actually managed to calm down the game and keep Burnley away from their own goal.
Klopp brought on Diogo Jota for Mané as planned (67th), opposite Sean Dyche made an unplanned substitution for Weghorst (75th): The Dutchman, hapless in front of goal, had injured his left leg in a header duel and thus finally experienced an afternoon to forget.
Liverpool missed the decisive 2:0 (80./86.), but brought the deserved away victory easily to the finish. The gap to leaders Manchester City remains nine points, with the Reds still having a game of catch-up to play. Burnley are now winless in eleven games and remain bottom of the table, but have played at least two games less than their relegation rivals.
