Liverpool v Burnley ratings: Mane the spark; Keane stands out

Oli Fisher

Liverpool: Earn vital home win

Liverpool had to come from behind to beat Burnley at Anfield and consolidate their place in the top four of the Premier League.

Ashley Barnes did give the Clarets an early lead with a powerful finish at the back post, but Georginio Wijnaldum responded in first half stoppage team to make it 1-1.

Emre Can produced a fine strike to win the game for Liverpool, beating Tom Heaton with a low drive.

Who impressed for Jurgen Klopp’s side? And who can hold their heads up for Sean Dyche’s men?

 

Liverpool ratings

Simon Mignolet: Couldn’t do much about the goal at all, but his distribution seemed slow and laboured. 5

Nathaniel Clyne: Really struggled with a final ball, and lost his man for Burnley’s goal. A rare off day. 5

Joel Matip: Did well to neutralise the pacey Gray to aid his slower partner, and grew into the game after a nervy start. 6

Ragnar Klavan: Looked way too slow, but didn’t make any major errors. Burnley smelt blood down the middle because of him, but he stood up well. 6

James Milner: Did a solid job but similar to Clyne was not at his best. Showed they lack pace from left back at times too. 6

Georginio Wijnaldum: Was out of the game until his equaliser but then seemed to grow in confidence after a poor first half. 6

Emre Can: Produced a fine strike out of nowhere to lift an otherwise flat Liverpool. Had a tough day in midfield but competed. 6

Adam Lallana: Worked very hard as per usual and showed signs of trickery, was just lacking the end product today. 6

Philippe Coutinho: Was removed early. Had some nice flicks and tricks but wasn’t as effective as Klopp would hope. 6

Sadio Mane: Provides bursts of pace and quality that can cut teams apart. Also worked very hard, a key part of Liverpool’s attacking efforts. 7

Divock Origi: Got two assists, but still isn’t the target man Liverpool are looking for. Struggled in the air and didn’t look like scoring. 6

Substitutes

Ben Woodburn (for Coutinho, 61′): Wanted to get involved right away and looked very bright. 7

Lucas Leiva (for Origi, 79′): Came on to solidify the team. 6

Burnley ratings

Tom Heaton: Couldn’t do much about either goal and his defence meant he had a quieter day than he may have planned. 6

Matt Lowton: Worked incredibly hard and neutralised Liverpool’s wide threat. Beginning to earn a reputation as a quality full-back. 7

Michael Keane: Looking more and more like he’s ready to slot in at a bigger club (with all respect). Composed yet powerful. 8

Ben Mee: Next to Keane he did well to prevent Liverpool scoring for so long. A solid performance. 6

Stephen Ward: Also did well to keep Klopp’s men at bay for so long, competing well throughout. 6

George Boyd: Was asked to make contributions on the defensive end and didn’t get much chance in the final third. 5

Joey Barton: Was fairly anonymous, but quietly did a good job of stifling Liverpool by crowding the midfield. 6

Jeff Hendrick: Similar to Barton, didn’t hear much of his name, but also helped contribute to the shape which made the Clarets hard to crack. 6

Scott Arfield: Worked his socks off on the left side and had the better of Clyne. 6

Andre Gray: Ran hard and caused some problems for the Liverpool back line, but ultimately was expected more of. 5

Ashley Barnes: Took his goal very week and looked the main threat for the visitors. 7

Substitutes

Robbie Brady (for Boyd, 73′): Made some silly challenges but did inject some urgency. 5

Sam Vokes (for Gray, 80′): Perhaps was left too late to bring the Welshman on. 6