Liverpool remained winless for their third successive game after they played out a disappointing 1-1 draw against Burnley at Anfield on Saturday. The Reds suffered a gruelling 5-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City last weekend, and they really need a victory to keep pace with the top teams in the Premier League.
The Reds enjoyed more than 70 percent of the possession versus the Clarets, but they could not find the cutting edge with the likes of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee providing standout performances at the back for Sean Dyche’s side.
Philippe Coutinho made his first start of the campaign following his cameo appearance in the 2-2 Champions League draw against Sevilla in midweek, but he largely struggled to make an impact on the playing field.
The Brazilian tried to get involved with his touches and regular passing from a midfield role, but he failed to trouble Clarets goalkeeper Nick Pope, who had a fine afternoon in Tom Heaton’s absence.
Liverpool fans were far from impressed with the returning Brazilian and took to Twitter to express their views on his performance…
Fans going on about #lfc shots on goal. Did you see the quality of most of the shots? Especially from Coutinho? #abysmal
— NAB (@funkynab) September 16, 2017
Coutinho was too obvious, Salah always cuts in and shoots, Firmino didn't have things his way… Burnley don't even deserve credit.#LFC
— πΎππππ𧣠(@WilcoFtbl) September 16, 2017
Coutinho's shooting was woeful today. He must have hit row Z about 12 times #LFC
— Tom Falshaw (@TomFalsh) September 16, 2017
Maybe, we should have let Coutinho go πππ? #LFC
— Henry Pecku (@Kpecku) September 16, 2017
Coutinho was the worst player on the pitch for #LFC for me.
Looked like a teenager always trying to do everything by himself. #LIVBUR— SβZU (@Sozu__) September 16, 2017
The defeat sees the Reds eighth in the Premier League standings, five points adrift of leaders Manchester City, who secured a thumping 6-0 win over Watford on Saturday. To make things worse, the likes of Huddersfield Town, Burnley and Newcastle United are ahead of them in the early part of the season, and this will not please Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool’s next two meetings are against Leicester City in the League Cup and the Premier League respectively, and the Reds will have to be wary of the Foxes attack, which has shone in the early part of the campaign.
Craig Shakespeare’s side have run the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea closely in defeats this term, and they will pose a huge threat to the Reds’ backline which simply does not keep clean sheets in any competition.
Image – Getty