August 21, (THEWILL) – Former English Premier League champions Liverpool maintained their perfect start to the 2021-22 season with a composed 2-0 victory over Burnley at Anfield to see them coast through Matchday two without conceding for the second game running.
Much of that clean sheet in Saturday’s game for Liverpool can be attributed to their defensive capabilities with the return of mercurial centre-back Virgil van Dijk making a difference again but a more clinical side than Burnley could have given the backline a lot to think about.
The chances that opened up early for Chris Wood and later for James Tarkowski to give Burnley the lead were wasted by the striker and the defender, otherwise Burnley could have had two goals inside the first half alone. Instead, Liverpool took control of proceedings when Diogo Jota’s 18th minute glancing header broke the deadlock.
Nine minutes later, Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah was denied the chance to double their lead as his goal was disallowed for a marginal offside before he curled his effort past Nick Pope in the Burnley goal.
Those possibilities Burnley had to make it a more even game in the first half were joined to the disallowed goal that Ashley Barnes produced at the start of the second half which was correctly struck off for offside.
Liverpool seized control of the game in the second half and dazed Burnley with their creativity and incursions into the visitors’ final third. Much of the distribution came through Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of the best players on the pitch. The chances yielded fruit when Sadio Mane completed an incisive move in the 69th minute to make it 2-0.
The closest Burnley came to threatening in the second half came from Wood again. The striker burst goal ward at the final moments of the game but was thwarted by Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker to maintain his clean sheet.
It was an overall convincing performance by the Reds as some of their swagger from their title-winning season was noticeable. It represented a vast improvement from their underwhelming displays from last season when a flash of injuries decimated their defense and the seeming impregnable home record became something of a farce.
Now, the clean sheets are returning with the confidence that has been raised at the back with Becker in goal, van Dijk back in action and the other defensive talents like Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip also taking their places and playing as they did when Liverpool took the title.
In fact, this was van Dijk’s 48th home Premier League appearance with Liverpool and he has yet to lose a single game he has played at their stadium, winning 43 and drawing five to sound out how important he is to the defense and how much they missed his input last season.
The Reds will want to see this continue when they welcome the reigning European champions Chelsea next Saturday to Anfield. In their own schedule, Burnley are also at home against Leeds United on Sunday, albeit after a midweek EFL Cup clash away at Newcastle United.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
