BURNLEY 1-3 LIVERPOOL – PLAYER RATINGS

Goals from James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri were needed after Burnley took the lead early in the second half to secure the victory for Liverpool. This is now the clubs best start to a Premier League campaign ever.

ALLISON (8) – Unfortunate to not deal with Burnley’s goal, our trusty keeper had very little action to deal with as Liverpool dominated possession throughout. However, he was called upon late in the game, denying a Burnley player from scoring in the 91^st minute with an acrobatic save, before quickly pouncing on the ball and setting Liverpool up for a rampant counter-attack in which the win was secured. The second time in two games that Alisson’s quick thinking has led to goals.

ALBERTO MORENO (6) – With Andrew Robertson picking up a minor injury, Moreno was able to make a rare start and unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly surprised by the performance. Clearly targeted as a weakness by Burnley, Alberto wasn’t able to add much at all to the team, looking understandably shaky. He managed a cross that turned more into a shot over the bar. That really was about it.

JOEL MATIP (6.5) – There’s just something about Joel Matip that terrifies me every time he touches the ball. In the first half he looked slow and lazy on the ball, even getting a minor telling off from Virgil Van Dijk for his slow distribution. In the second half, his game picked up slightly with a more confident and assured look when in possession of the ball.

VIRGIL VAN DIJK (8) – Even when VVD loses the ball, he strolls and with ease, wins it back. Another terrific performance from Virgil makes it easy to give the high rating. A warrior in the air and a master when passing, I’m starting to think that he really could play any position of the pitch. Notably, Virgil bagged an assist as he stretched and laid the ball on a plate for Roberto Firmino to tap home. That makes it two assists in two for Virgil.

JOE GOMEZ (6-INJURED) – Looking like a serious injury worry, Joe Gomez was stretchered off in the first half, looking to be in some discomfort. This may turn out to be a massive blow for Liverpool as Joe has arguably been one of our best players this season.

JORDAN HENDERSON (7.5) – Much better. Jordan looked far more positive when passing the ball, going forward plenty of times whilst also steadying the Liverpool ship, in the second half at least. Without mentioning his comical slip when going to clear the ball, oops, some good break up play was on show from Hendo, stopping a few counter-attacks that could have been dangerous.

JAMES MILNER (8) – With Liverpool 1-0 down, James Milner placed a lovely driven shot past former Manchester City goalkeeper, Joe Hart and started the comeback. Alongside this, James held up the ball wonderfully in the corner, showing that he may have more skill than we are used to seeing before eventually winning a corner. In the second half, James was moved to the left-back position, looking comfortable and in all honestly, much better than Alberto Moreno, a left-back by trade.

NABY KEITA (9-MOTM) – This is the Naby Keita we were hoping to see! Strong and skilful on the ball made it easy to see why he has been brought to Liverpool. Not only creative, Naby battled hard, winning the ball back numerous times and putting in many a tackle, showing a gritty side to his game. He was given time and space by Burnley, who clearly didn’t show him enough respect, as he gracefully waltzed past the opposition players. Easily his best performance to date.

XHERDAN SHAQIRI (7.5) – Xherdan is turning out to be a steal, with his performances of late being top quality. However, his first half showing didn’t necessarily reflect his recent form, finding it hard to really work his magic during the first half, like many of the Liverpool players. As the game went on, Shaq became much more influential, and especially when he secured victory with a lovely half-volleyed shot past Joe Hart, who was himself impressive.

DANIEL STURRIDGE (6.5) – A fairly quiet Wednesday night for Sturridge meant that his rating was unable to be much higher than a 6.5. During the first half, the ball just wouldn’t fall for him, with some poor touches seen throughout. The striker did spring into life later on, testing Joe Hart with a fierce left foot shot which was arrowing for the left side of the goal. Also, he was key in playing the ball to Mo Salah in build up for the third and final goal

DIVOCK ORIGI (6) – Following on from gaining hero status against Everton , Divock was gifted a start by Jurgen Klopp. Unfortunately, a very quiet game meant  that Divock was unable to shine over the entirety of the game. Saying this, Origi managed to hold onto the ball nicely before playing the ball to James Milner to shoot and score, meaning that the Belgium striker managed to claim an assist.

SUBSTITUTES:

TRENT ALEXANDER ARNOLD (7) – Brought on for the injured Joe Gomes, the gifted right-back allowed Liverpool to look much more of a threat coming down the right hand side. A lovely nutmeg from TAA showed just how confident the young man is. A few fantastic balls into box were made, including the inch perfect cross that led to Liverpool’s second goal.

ROBERTO FIRMINO (7) – Jurgen Klopp brought Firmino on to make an impact, and make an impact he did. With his first touch of the ball, Bobby tapped in from a Virgil Van Dijk cross and put the reds into the lead. His class oozed through late on when simply holding the ball and releasing to other players, meaning that Liverpool were able to see out the win.

MOHAMED SALAH (6.5) – The game was crying out for Salah’s pace and every Liverpool fan was excited to see him coming on. His speed allowed him to latch on to Daniel Sturridge’s over the top pass and flick the ball into the perfect location for Shaqiri to score late on.

By CAMERON WILSON, Twitter – (@cam1wilson)