February 13, (THEWILL) – Fabinho’s first-half goal gave Jurgen Klopp’s team a 1-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor, keeping Liverpool’s Premier League title chances alive.
With Maxwel Cornet darting in from the left hand side, the Clarets opened the game with ferocity, continually looking to exploit the space in behind Liverpool’s high defensive line. But, Naby Keita drew a save from Nick Pope down to his right hand side from the edge of the box after being set up by Sadio Mane in the 20th minute.
Liverpool appealed for a penalty when Mohamed Salah went down inside the penalty area, and the game devolved into chaos. Burnley burst down the other end of the pitch, with Wout Weghorst spurning a golden one-on-one opportunity. Referee Martin Atkinson waved away the visitors’ appeals.
When Virgil van Dijk’s botched clearing from a free-kick fell to Jay Rodriguez’s feet seven minutes later, Alisson was called into action, but the former Southampton man could not sort his feet out quickly enough.
Mane put Pope to the test with a brilliant Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick before Weghorst squandered another serious opportunity for the visitors. With Joel Matip closing in, the Dutchman was sent through on goal but could only poke his shot past the post.
In the 39th minute, Burnley were made to regret their string of wasted opportunities. Mane flicked on Alexander-Arnold’s throw at the front post, before Fabinho reacted first to stab home at the second attempt after Pope’s reflex save.
The hosts came out of the halftime break with the same zeal that they had shown in the first half. Ben Mee was unmarked when he met a corner in the 50th minute, but his header went wide of the target.
Weghorst next launched a long-range shot after eluding Thiago in midfield, but his effort was deflected and neatly handled by a grateful Alisson.
Klopp cut an animated figure on the sidelines, urging his team to regain control of the game, and his players almost heeded his warning. Mane seemed destined to touch home Alexander-low-driven Arnold’s effort from the edge of the penalty area, but Pope was alert to the danger and cut out the England international’s cross.
Liverpool were looking for a second goal to put the game out of reach, and Alexander-Arnold came close in the 80th minute when he popped up inside the penalty area. Mee nearly diverted the ball into his own net as he swivelled and sought a cut-back towards Salah.
With four minutes remaining, substitute Diogo Jota could have given Klopp’s side the extra goal, but the Portuguese clutched at his effort under pressure from a diving Tarkowski as the Reds saw the game out.
Burnley’s next game is a trip to Brighton in their fight for survival, while Liverpool’s next Champions League match is at the San Siro against Serie A holders Inter.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
