Opinion: Burnley's dogged display in defeat to Liverpool another sign of improvement

With Nottingham Forest winning earlier in the day, the gap to safety extended from three points to five. Not exactly what Burnley needed with back-to-back games against title challengers coming up.

But irrespective of what is happening away from Turf Moor and elsewhere in the Premier League, the Clarets are continuing to improve. They are heading in the right direction. The incremental changes are making a difference.

It’s well documented how badly they struggled against the top sides at the start of the season. They found themselves well out of games with barely half an hour on the clock.

Against Liverpool, who moved top with their win, Vincent Kompany’s men pushed an elite outfit all the way and made them sweat for their three points.

While a defeat is ultimately a defeat whichever way you look at it, the manner of them can tell you an awful lot about the team in question and where they’re headed.

Resolute

Burnley were everything a side needs to be when mired in a relegation dogfight. They were dogged, they were resilient and they showed bags of character.

Staying in games has been a huge problem until the last month or so. But the fact Liverpool only held a slender one-goal lead in the 89th minute of this game tells you an awful lot about the progress they’ve made.

While Liverpool ultimately deserved their win, it could easily have been different. Burnley wasted chances, good ones too. But it was telling that both of Liverpool’s goals came not long after those opportunities at the other end had been squandered. The difference in quality was there for all to see.

Liverpool’s first goal wasn’t even a chance. But Cody Gakpo laid the ball back to Darwin Nunez on the edge of the box and wham, the ball flew into the bottom corner within the blink of an eye. There was nothing James Trafford could have done and in all honesty, the Clarets hadn’t done a lot wrong either.

What followed wasn’t particularly pretty though, it must be said. Burnley were panicky and hasty in their defending and truth be told, the visitors ought to have added to their lead.

But not for the first time in recent weeks, Trafford came to their aid with a flurry of impressive stops. Seven, to be precise, in the first-half (and one more in the second).

While they were defensively shaky in the opening 45 minutes, they still possessed a threat going the other way and created the odd opening here and there on the transition. Zeki Amdouni will have been disappointed not to find the target in a four-vs-three scenario and Josh Brownhill curled just wide.

Game-changing moment

But the second-half is where Burnley really stood up to the plate. Ironically, it was a controversial moment where Liverpool had the ball in the back of the net that sparked them into life.

Harvey Elliott tapped home what he thought was his side’s second goal only to be denied by VAR, with referee Paul Tierney adjudging Mo Salah to have been interfering with Trafford’s eyeline after being gently nudged into an offside position by Jordan Beyer.

This galvanised the fans. In an instant they were on their feet and pushing Burnley on. Charlie Taylor got the memo, sliding into a perfectly-timed last-ditch tackle to deny Salah as he prepared to race through on goal.

As the half wore on, Burnley sensed there could be something in this. Up to this point they had been comfortably second best, but they remained competitive and had enough joy in attack to suggest something could be there for them.

Sander Berge dragged a shot wide of target, but the big chance came midway through the half when Wilson Odobert put the ball on a plate for substitute Johann Gudmundsson. But with the goal at his mercy, he could only head over the bar.

You felt that could be the one and only chance the Clarets would get, but more opportunities came.

With just three minutes remaining, a lazy pass out from the back from Liverpool gifted Jacob Bruun Larsen the ball in the final third of the pitch. He bore down on goal and, with Alisson backtracking, opted to shoot early, only to fire his low effort a whisker wide of the upright.

Three minutes later, Jota worked his way into a good shooting position before beating Trafford from a tight angle. Game, set and match. There’s the difference.

Appreciation

In previous fixtures this has been the catalyst for hundreds, or maybe of thousands of fans to head for the exits.

But on this occasion, the majority of supporters stayed behind to show their appreciation. Kompany and his players were rightly applauded off the pitch.

This is what Burnley fans want to see, some fight, a bit of doggedness. Losing in the Premier League, especially to sides as good as Liverpool, is to be expected. But make them earn it, don’t gift-wrap them the points without them having to barely break sweat.

For part of the first-half, you felt Liverpool were in second gear. But in the second 45, they were pushed all the way.

It still wasn’t enough, but that’s where it comes down to a gulf in quality. Supporters can accept that, as galling as it might be.