Liverpool Vs Burnley Man of Match
Liverpool made sure they went into the first international break of the season with a 100% record from the first four games of the new Premier League campaign, after after a routine win against Sean Dyche’s Burnley at Turf Moor.
Liverpool rarely broke out of second gear on Saturday, with the European Champions being able to flex their muscle yet again by sweeping the Lancashire team aside without really breaking much of a sweat.
I will be taking a look at three of the Reds stand-out performers who helped bring all three points back to Merseyside, and send Jurgen Klopp’s men back to the summit of the Premier League.
MOTM Contender 1- Fabinho
Fabinho was fantastic in front of the back four, with the ball being played in the air for most of the game by the home side it was a big physical test for the Brazilian, a test which he passed with flying colours. The physical presence of a striker like Ashley Barnes is something that used to cause Liverpool problems years ago, but between the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Fabinho, they really kept him out of the game.
From a defensive point of view he was fantastic, he won his second balls, which always going to be key if Liverpool were going to get anything out of their visit to Turf Moor. His ability to win the ball with his long legs is incredible, its like he wins every tackle he goes in for.
Fabinho is becoming a stand out performer for Liverpool, week-in week-out, constantly giving phenomenal performances. A very old fashioned midfielder who loves a tackle but also has a fantastic set of technical attributes has really helped take Liverpool’s Midfield to the next level.
MOTM Contender 2- Joel Matip
Matip produced another outstanding display, in what on paper is always one of the most difficult venues to visit as an opposition team. With Matip being up against Barnes and Chris Wood, it was always going to be a 90 minuets of aerial duels between the two.
The Cameroonian defender limited the Burnely front two to minimal chances throughout the 90 minuets, Matip hardly gave either of them a sniff as they failed to create more than a handful of clear cut chances. If Burnley were going to get anything out of the game they were going to have to cause some problems from set pieces, but Liverpool defended their set pieces incredibly well, with Matip and van Dijk both being at the heart of that.
The first clean sheet of the season for Liverpool’s defenders.
MOTM contender 3- Roberto Firmino
Each week I run out of words to describe Roberto Firmino, an absolutely fantastic footballer. Yesterday he became the highest scoring Brazilian in Premier League history (50 Goals).
Firmino was at the heart of Liverpool’s attacking threat, the way he links up with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane is majestic to watch. Setting up Liverpool’s second goal yesterday in a way which sums up the Liverpool number nine in a nutshell. Latching onto a sloppy pass from Ben Mee before having the composure to wait and wait before feeding a perfectly weighted ball to Sadio to effortlessly slot the ball past Nick Pope.
Firmino is someone who is largely underrated by a lot of football fans, with the selfless work he does, that largely goes unnoticed, the runs he makes to open up space for other players is so intelligent.
On Saturday he was outstanding, he held the ball up as he brought other players into the game, he gives Liverpool options going long or going into feet. A fantastic footballer who can do it all.
Rounding off the day with a record breaking goal yesterday was nothing short of what he deserved for his performance.
Personally, Firmino ran the game yesterday. A truly magnificent footballer, an absolute pleasure to watch him week in week out.