Fabinho helps Liverpool edge past Burnley

Liverpool made it six wins in a row in all competitions with a narrow 1-0 win at Burnley thanks to Fabinho’s goal late in the first half.

With Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane back in the starting line-up after their Africa Cup of Nations exertions it was the Brazilian midfielder who was the difference – forcing home from close range.

Burnley had their chances in a surprisingly even game but spurned all of them with Wout Weghorst and James Rodriguez particularly culpable after exposing Liverpool’s high line.

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Jurgen Klopp’s team were not fluent – the closest Salah came was when denied a penalty for what looked a trip by Weghorst – but the win moves them back within nine points of Manchester City.

Sean Dyche’s side remain bottom of the Premier League table and the victory for Newcastle over Aston Villa means that the Clarets are now seven points away from safety.

Salah and Mane return

This was anything but easy for Liverpool but the squad depth is back thanks to the returning Salah and Mane. Diogo Jota had a dead leg so was forced to miss some training this past week. Fortunately for Klopp, he has options again up front so was able to rest the Portuguese.

Mane was involved in the goal that decided the game, finding space at the front post to get his head to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s left-wing corner before Fabinho forced the ball past the impressive Nick Pope at the second attempt. The man from Senegal looked sharp before being substituted.

Salah had his moments too but was restricted by some robust defending from Erik Pieters. He will be frustrated that he was denied a penalty in the first half. There was a delay before he hit the deck but the clip on his foot from Weghorst was significant and might have been given after a VAR check.

Klopp: ‘It was a perfect afternoon’

“It was a perfect afternoon,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “Rainy, windy. Men’s football. Everything here was set up for a banana skin. Each ball in the air, so tricky to defend. The wind comes from all directions. We played the circumstances rather than suffer from it so I am really happy with that.

“They had their moments, that is clear. But we dealt with it well. What I liked most about it is how hard we worked for it. If we had come to play a bit of football, we may as well have stayed in the hotel. We came to work incredibly hard and that is what we did. I am really happy about it.”

Burnley in big trouble

Things are looking bleak for Burnley even after two good team performances this past week. They were in this game throughout but there was no repeat of the draw they earned against Manchester United in midweek and there must be doubts whether they have the quality needed to stay up now.

Seventeen goals is an alarming return and with the wastefulness shown in front of goal here, it is easy to see why it is such a problem. Rodriguez and Weghorst should have been much more ruthless when clean through on goal. Burnley still have games in hand. Winning them is another matter.

Dyche: ‘It was a head scratcher’

“It was a good performance against a good Liverpool side,” Dyche told Sky Sports. “We took the game on and in the first half we created some amazing chances against quality opposition with some good play.

“It is a head scratcher today because I thought we deserved more than we got from the game. That is the story of our season. We have created some really good chances and not taken them.

“We looked a threat and kept them to a minimum but we conceded a really soft goal. Other than that, I cannot fault the performance. With that mentality, we will certainly produce in the coming games.”

What’s next?

Burnley visit Brighton in the Premier League next Saturday at 3pm while Liverpool return to Champions League action on Wednesday in their last 16 first-leg encounter with Inter Milan at the San Siro; kick-off 8pm.