(Premier League 2023/2024): Highlights Liverpool - Burnley

It's hard to gauge that, but this is one of those days. Beaten at Arsenal last time out, now Liverpool return to Premier League action against Burnley, with all eyes on them, including that huge Anfield roadhead today, almost fully open for what we're expecting to be a league-recorded Anfield. Well, as you may see from that Liverpool line-up that's walking down the Burnley players, there are a couple of surprises in the Liverpool team today. Jürgen Klopp and some company say hello to each other. Alisson and Joe Gomez are both ill and are ruled out of the game, so Keleher comes in in goal. It's actually his 13th start of the season, so he has played plenty of football, and it's not a bad replacement at left-back for Gomez. Andrew Robertson starts, also a boost for Liverpool, with Costa-Semicas back on the bench. Wataru Endo is back in midfield as well, with the hammer blow of that new Thiago injury. Still no Dominic Sobislai, so we're expecting Alexi McAllister to play a little further forward. Well, there's three changes for Vincent Kompany's Burnley side, it was inevitable that David D'Atro-Fofana would come into the starting line-up, having scored twice to come from two down against Fulham last time out. He comes in up front, they've got a couple of problems in defence, Jordan Beyer is long-term injured, so they tried Hjalmar Ekdal last week, he lasted till half-time and was replaced by Maxime Esteve. It's Esteve who starts today, and Hannes Delcroix manages to return, and he comes in at left-back for Vitinho, but they've still got problems with Charlie Taylor, so left-back's been a bit of an issue for them. Robertson will go back towards his goalkeeper. Keleher, always so smart with his distribution, McAllister. Misplaced from him, looked offside against Fofana, the flag does stay down, and Fofana has perhaps tried to catch Keleher out, just seeing him off his line a little, or whether he was going for the cross or not as it was. Very nearly trouble the goalkeeper. Well, Trent Alexander-Arnold gets wrong side, you can see there in the play that he's offside anyway, I think. Odalbert, only 19 is Wilson Odalbert. There were moments when Liverpool played at Turf Moor that he looked bright. That's Amdouni! That's a really top stop from Keleher. Amdouni's touch and shift past Van Dijk was brilliant. GARY GILLESPIES Well, they've been really threatening Burnley in all fairness, it's a lovely touch, isn't it, cos he's got the momentum, he's got the running Virgil van Dijk, Virgil van Dijk gets caught flat-footed, which is quite easy when the player's actually coming onto it, he takes it in the half-volley, and Kevin Keleher reacts really, really well, he's out really quickly to help his big centre-back and make the save from Amdouni. That's a lovely ball, and delivered early, looking for Diogo Jota again, it's an important touch, Asenyon, half-away, completed by Sanderberg. Clever from Endo, Alexander-Arnold wins the corner. Burnley will feel that it's not the better side, they are certainly Liverpool's equal so far. Well, that can all change in the fraction of a second. Trafford doesn't get there, full score, Jota again, who else could it be right now? Other than Diogo Jota. Goals galore for the Portuguese international. GARY GILLESPIES Well, he follows the flight of the ball really well, because it comes over an awful lot of players, it comes over Trafford, and we're talking about his distribution, well, his distribution is pretty good, but he'll feel a little bit wanting on that one. He comes for the cross, and as a goalkeeper if you come you've got to get it, you've got to clear everybody out, if anything I think it's his own man that he jumps into. I don't think there's anything untoward about that. And the benefactor is Diogo Jota. Jota on the spotter. GARY GILLESPIES Started slowly, Liverpool, but now they're at it. And they really are at it, because this is Darwin, Nunez! That's a super start by Trafford. GARY GILLESPIES I think it was Asenyon that was playing. Darwin Nunez onside there, lovely little ball. You've got to give credit a little bit to one of these defenders, throwing their bodies in the way of things. GARY GILLESPIES I feel he's making the referee aware that they feel that James Trafford is taking quite a long time to play the ball. Odobe gets the break, gets the ball away from Alexander-Arnold. And the ball, a cross goal towards Ramsey, his first touch, isn't what Verley needed. Delivery, and a free header, oh, it's in! It's brilliantly met by O'Shea, and Burnley have levelled things up. That is as good a header you will see. GARY GILLESPIES Well, as headers go, they don't come much better than this. From a set player, he'll be angry, the manager in general, they've defended set players really well throughout the course of this season, but not on this occasion, and all credit to O'Shea. The delivery is good as well, it has to be said from Brownell, but then, what a header that is. That is fantastic. GARY GILLESPIES Trafford's having a gamble, and he just about got away with it. Darwin Nunez was coming fast. Curtis Jones, moving with purpose. Jota. Oh, McAllister might win that. And it's gonna break towards Elliot, McAllister stays down. Liverpool are playing on, and it's in! Alexi McAllister was lying down on the edge of the penalty area. Everyone looked towards the referee, except Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz, who went and made a goal. GARY GILLESPIES Then the ball eventually breaks to Harvey Elliott, and he just fires it across. Luis Diaz does exceptionally well, just because he's got to readjust, it looks as if it's gonna go to his feet, and then it comes straight to his head, and he just really, really quickly takes a slight deflection here, which makes it bounce up in the air. And all credit to Luis Diaz, it's a wonderful finish, because he has to readjust his body really, really quickly. Endo. It's a clever run by Luis Diaz, just creating space for Andrew Robertson, which he's more than happy to work into, Nunez! Oh, it's a top, top stop from Trafford. That's a couple from him now, Nunez was offside anyway, it wouldn't have counted, but don't take anything away from Burnley's young goalkeeper. Well, it's a stupid move from Liverpool, really good ball out to the left-hand side, and Nunez sprinting into the goal, into the centre of the 18-yard box, a lovely little ball by Andrew Robertson. All credit to Darwin Nunez, because it's a lovely little touch, technique is absolutely spot-on, makes good contact with the ball. Might have been interested on VAR, this could be interesting, because Ofano's run away, it's a great stop by the goalkeeper, Oduber's wild! The goal wasn't exactly gaping, but it was there to hit, and Wilson Oduber couldn't do so. What a stop from Kelleher. GARY GILLESPIES Well, he's obviously learnt from the best, one-on-one, they get a little bit lucky that nobody comes off his hand for Fana, but then face one-on-one, Kelleher's really out quickly, isn't he? He closes the space down between forward and the goal, hence the reason he becomes even bigger, and Oduber just panics a little bit. Well, that will break four for Fana, and he's not taken the chance again. Two huge moments for the man who scored twice last week. Two big chances that he's not taken today, and Burnley really should be level now. GARY GILLESPIES Well, I think he realises that as well, does Vincent Kompany. Again, they back it up really well. GARY GILLESPIES Maybe he was a little too calm. Kelleher's got a bit of a bobble there, so waited for the ball to settle down. Unable to send it forward, it's Luis Diaz, Nunez wants it, Luis Diaz is going on his own, the ball a little behind Diogo Jota. Trafford saves, again. GARY GILLESPIES It just seems to be a case of chances and opportunities at either end. Last five minutes or so, a little reverse pass to Diogo Jota. He could have slipped in Darwin Nunez, but I think Darwin had just gone a little bit early. He could go offside, choose his jotter. Again, it's a lovely save by James Trafford. Robertson's corner, Trafford away. It's gonna come to Elliot. Robertson sends it high and long towards Van Dijk. Kwanzaa! Close, as close can be. GARY GILLESPIES It's a combination of two centre-backs, it's a hopeful ball if anything by Andrew Robertson, not that one from the corner, but this one coming up as volleys go. That's pretty impressive from a centre-back, and that's not a million miles wide of the post. It'd been a heck of a goal. GARY GILLESPIES Robertson's gone now, he's moving quite freely now too. Oh, it's a foul by the full-back. There's a bit too much arm in that. GARY GILLESPIES I'd just like to see Virgil van Dijk fake to go in there and just check round the back, I think for Fafana. I don't think he's the best defender in the world, I don't think he's the best man-marker in the world, I think you could lose him. GARY GILLESPIES Well, there he goes! Unlucky, Gary. You nearly tore that one straight in, didn't you? GARY GILLESPIES Well, he didn't make much of a dart to his right-hand side, but as I say, I don't think Fafana is the best man-marker in the world. GARY GILLESPIES McAllister, that's nice. This is Jones. We'll get a second goal. McAllister waits, so too Harvey Elliott. And deflection on the shot. Darwin Nunez was a whisker away from getting on the end of it. GARY GILLESPIES The build-up play is really good from Liverpool, like Harvey Elliott going in a central position. This ball from Curtis Jones has got to be across. Harvey Elliott. And Liverpool's corner is taken by Robertson. It's gonna come through to Diogo Jota. Heck of a strike for Fafana, charges it down. Elliott. And Nunez! GARY GILLESPIES And Harvey Elliott, they get a load of a couple of ricochets and then a floaty little ball into the box. A little bit behind the Uruguayan, but he can manage to contort his head in the right direction just to get enough on it and take it fast-travelled into the far corner. GARY GILLESPIES Well, the goalkeeper's not keeping that one out. Darwin, Nunez, not to be denied. Oh, it's one of those goals that just look so, so good. Time for Liverpool to make a triple substitution. Don't know how long they're gonna get. GARY GILLESPIES Well, it's gonna be minimal. There might be time to come on after a Nunez goal. Trafford with the save. Robertson. Nunez again. They're queuing up in the middle. Nunez wants to score, it's hit Darrochet. Here's Robertson. Diogo Jota. And punched away by goalkeeper. GARY GILLESPIES Well, good vision, good touch by Darwin Nunez. Had that been early on in the game, they'd probably have been able to take it a little bit further. I think tiredness creeping in a little bit, a little toe-poking there, and sometimes they work. But Liverpool open Burnley up enough over the course of the 90 minutes. Vincent Kompany's side gave them a real, real game, and a relationship between those two that started when Kompany was a Hamburg player many, many years ago. You wonder if it will go on with what Jurgen Klopp has in store in the future. Yeah, it's heated up now, isn't it? Manchester City keep on winning, Arsenal are coming strong, but Jurgen and his Reds aren't lying down. Another win for Liverpool. Liverpool 3-1 Burnley.