Revealed! The key weaknesses in Liverpool's display last night - and how Burnley exploited them

On a bitterly cold Thursday night on Merseyside, an Ashley Barnes penalty was enough to decide a contest that at times veered towards the tempestuous, but never really challenged the Clarets as much as many expected it to .

Divock Origi rattled a crossbar for the hosts after an uncharacteristic slip-up from Ben Mee, and Nick Pope had to be alert to keep out a fizzing Mo Salah drive after the break, but those chances aside, the Reds hardly troubled Sean Dyche’s men.

But in truth, all things considered, there’s an argument to be made that yesterday's result wasn’t as seismic a shock as some quarters would have you believe.

After all, a largely similar Burnley team took a point at Anfield back in July, and this Liverpool side look to be a shadow of the title-winning juggernaut that laid waste to most of the Premier League last term.

The Reds haven’t scored a goal in the top flight since December 27th, and they haven’t won a league match since they put seven past Crystal Palace just before Christmas.

Factor in a rickety back-line that is sorely missing the towering presence of Virgil van Dijk, and this is a Liverpool side who, for the first time in a long while, have lost their sheen of invincibility.

There are cracks appearing on the surface, chinks opening up in the armour – but those weakness still had to be exploited for Burnley to get anything out of last night's clash.

Manchester United, for instance, could only muster a toothless stalemate at Anfield on Sunday, and yet the Clarets, precariously dangling on the precipice of a relegation battle, managed to go one better.

So, what were the secrets to Burnley’s success against the champions? We’ve taken a closer look at some of the key factors...

Liverpool continue to fire blanks

The Reds had 25 shots against the Clarets on Thursday night, but that number only really tells half a story.

Of those efforts on goal, just six were on target, giving Jurgen Klopp’s side a shot accuracy of just 24%.

By contrast, Burnley recorded an accuracy of 66.67%, with four of their six efforts hitting the target.

Those numbers point, at first glance, to a large amount of wastefulness from the hosts, and to some extent, that’s true.

Origi’s chance in particular was gilt-edged, and on another day Mee's momentary lapse in concentration could easily have been punished.

For the most part, however, Liverpool had the aura of a team who are gradually growing more and more desperate in their search for the elusive strike that would break their ongoing duck.

The vast majority of their efforts on goal came from range, and that was always going to play into Burnley’s hands.

For one thing, the Clarets have a defence that is purpose-built for withstanding that kind of relentless shelling.

Sean Dyche’s men blocked seven shots between them last night, as well as making 34 clearances and a massive 85 interceptions.

Nobody has made more interceptions against Liverpool this season.

Secondly, in Nick Pope, Burnley have a superb shot-stopper.

Even before kick-off, the 28-year-old was garnering praise from former teammate Tom Heaton, and while this was certainly a quieter night than the display he put in at Anfield in July’s 1-1 draw, he still had to be sharp when called upon.

The England international faced an xCG (expected goals conceded) of 1.37 last night, but still managed to keep a clean sheet, and even had to pull off three reflex saves over the course of the 90 minutes.

Bringing all of those figures together, it illustrates a Liverpool side who, at the present moment in time, look like a spent force in the final third – and Burnley, by being their usual solid, combative selves, were more than capable of dealing with them.

Poor service from wide areas

This next point really links into the one above, but it’s worth highlighting nonetheless.

Last season, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson were not just key components in Liverpool’s defensive solidity, they also posed a major threat going forward.

Between them, the pair clocked up 25 Premier League assists last term. So far this season, as we approach the halfway point of the campaign, they have just seven.

In particular, Alexander-Arnold’s form has taken a nosedive.

The 22-year-old attempted 23 crosses against Burnley last night. Just one of them found a Liverpool man, giving him a paltry success rate of 4%.

Again, it’s little wonder that the Reds look so blunted when such a vital part of their attacking blueprint has, to all intents and purposes, been taken out of the equation.

Once more though, Burnley have to be commended for the manner in which they stifled the champions.

If we look at the 22 unsuccessful crosses that Alexander-Arnold delivered last night, we can see that a large majority of them were actually put into dangerous areas.

Whether it be in and around the six-yard box or further back towards the penalty spot, there were plenty of opportunities for Liverpool to attack the ball, but Dyche’s side didn’t let it happen.

There are few teams in the Premier League who are as well-suited to an aerial bombardment as the Clarets, and they proved it again last night.

Defensive frailties

Much has been made of Liverpool’s defensive absences in recent weeks, and last night’s showing was a perfect illustration of why they miss their first choice centre-backs so much.

Admittedly, Joel Matip came back into the side on Thursday, but Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk were still missing, and Ashley Barnes had a field day against the deputising Fabinho.

The Burnley man won 11 out of his 13 contested aerial duels – a success rate of 85% – and it was his persistence that ultimately won the penalty which decided the game.

As the ball was headed back into the mixer by Matthew Lowton, Fabinho was touch-tight with Barnes, but the South American misread the situation dreadfully and allowed the Clarets forward to wriggle free of his grasp.

From there, it becomes a one-on-one race between the 31-year-old and goalkeeper Alisson, and the flight of the ball meant there was only ever going to be one winner.

Of course, mistakes happen, and even the likes of van Dijk have made costly blunders in the past, but Barnes – and Burnley writ large – have to take the credit for the way that they looked to harry, hassle, and ultimately, exploit the weaknesses in Liverpool’s defence.

A famous result

Much of the rhetoric in the aftermath of this match is likely to focus on how the Reds threw it away, rather than how Burnley got the better of them.

To some extent, that's only fair. Even the most optimistic of Clarets supporter would probably concede that on their day, Liverpool should be beating Sean Dyche’s men.

But the champions have had off-days before, and the fact that Burnley have travelled to Anfield and taken all three points against them – regardless of key absentees and poor form – is testament to their battling spirit and the preparedness that Sean Dyche has instilled in his squad.

At the end of the day, Liverpool didn’t just lose this match – Burnley went and won it.