It by no means felt inevitable that Liverpool have been going to emerge from Turf Moor with three factors till Mohamed Salah was lining up a Ninety fifth-minute penalty. They dominated possession however struggled to interrupt down 10-man Burnley whose organisation and laborious work annoyed the guests till Hannibal Mejbri's stoppage-time handball gifted the factors to the champions.
Arne Slot's facet have made an ideal begin as they purpose to retain the title, a activity that needs to be made simpler when he unleashes document £125m Alexander Isak, whose exile was prolonged by one other match nevertheless it was not self-imposed on this event. With Liverpool missing conviction within the last third, Isak would have been a welcome addition however, with a fourth straight victory secured, Slot needn't fear about that.
It's the second time in successive video games {that a} late penalty has value Burnley a draw, having misplaced final day out at Manchester United in related circumstances. Scott Parker will likely be pleased with his gamers who in a season that may very well be outlined by the best of margins, the factors dropped, will frustrate. Burnley have been holding on, and deservedly so, not helped by Lesley Ugochukwu being dismissed late on for a second bookable offence however an additional self-inflicted defeat.
Parker, whose last sport in command of Bournemouth was a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool in August 2022, approached the fixture with a conservative outlook. Burnley switched to a again 5, together with central midfielder Josh Laurent. They supplied the guests as a lot possession as they deserved, with everybody in claret almost-permanently behind the ball and infrequently providing a lot in the best way of a press, as Liverpool loved 81% possession, however have been able to irritate and pounce to win the ball again when required.
Liverpool spent loads of time within the Burnley half, profitable quite a few corners, placing Martin Dubravka beneath strain with crosses however the hosts have been capable of maintain the champions at bay. They even created their very own early probability on the counter, culminating in Jaidon Anthony firing simply over from the sting of the field.
The Turf Moor crowd have been enraged by the period of time Alexis Mac Allister took to stand up after a reckless problem by Ugochukwu, which rightly earned a reserving. The hostility in the direction of Liverpool rapidly grew when Milos Kerkez carried out a pitiful dive in an try and earn a penalty. His reward was being the second title to enter Michael Oliver's ebook and was changed by Andy Robertson within the thirty eighth minute to keep away from him being dismissed.
Burnley's deep defending disrupted Liverpool's rhythm as a result of there was little area to utilise. The place invention was required to get via the claret wall, Liverpool lacked the crafty to discover a method with the restricted room afforded to them. Florian Wirtz struggled to create regardless of Liverpool usually tenting on the sting of the Burnley field. The substitute Robertson got here closest to opening the scoring however he shot straight at Dubravka after a bursting run into the field.
At this level, it will have been helpful to name on Isak however he was at house. Slot is keen to not rush him into enjoying after lacking pre-season. Salah, Hugo Ekitiké and Cody Gakpo weren't on the identical wavelength and breaking down Burnley was a wrestle.
As a substitute Conor Bradley was despatched on on the break to inject much-needed vitality. There was better vibrancy to Liverpool as Ryan Gravenberch fired over, whereas Wirtz, whose affect was starting to develop, shot broad and Dominik Szoboszlai's rising drive was beautifully tipped over by Dubravka. The tide was delivering Liverpool's favour.
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Slot had Federico Chiesa at his disposal and the Italian had a wonderful probability to go house from a Robertson cross instantly after approaching however may solely look the ball broad when a powerful Swedish brow was required.
Time-wasting, blocks and last-ditch challenges have been the order of the day for Burnley within the closing levels as they fought to finish the job they got down to do. Debutant Luis Florentino caught to his activity on his first expertise of Premier League soccer, whereas Kyle Walker excelled at full-back, forcing the remainder of the defence to match his requirements.
Burnley's mission was made harder with six minutes to go when Ugochukwu was given a second yellow for fouling Wirtz on the sting of the field. It was all about holding on from this level. Szoboszlai couldn't replicate his magic that defeated Arsenal and despatched the next free-kick over.
The clock ticked down and Turf Moor was able to exhale with aid on the last whistle, however as an alternative Liverpool received to take pleasure in that emotion. Jeremie Frimpong clipped a cross into the field, Mejbri turned his again, protruding an elbow to depart Oliver with no different possibility. It was a short lapse in focus and it clearly pained Mejbri to observe Salah fireplace past Dubravka. It's one other harsh Premier League lesson for Burnley however champions are sometimes one of the best at instructing them.
