Fabinho hero as Liverpool keep Man City on their toes

Fabinho was the hero as Liverpool continue to keep Premier League leaders Manchester City on their toes after claiming a slender 1-0 win at rock-bottom Burnley on Sunday.

City beat Norwich City 4-0 on Saturday to open up a 12-point gap at the top, but the Reds responded at Turf Moor by trimming that lead again, meaning they can still reduce the deficit to six if they win their game in hand.

It was by no means straightforward for Jurgen Klopp’s men, however. Alisson was forced into several important saves in the first half as Burnley wasted numerous opportunities.

Liverpool had threatened as well and finally took the lead just before halftime through Fabinho, and that ultimately proved decisive as the Reds did a far better job of controlling the contest after half-time.

In an entertaining opening 45, Alisson was the first of the two goalkeepers to be called into meaningful action by Josh Brownhill’s 30-yard strike, before also denying Maxwel Cornet from close range.

Nick Pope then brilliantly got down to keep Naby Keita’s effort out – Burnley countered from the resulting corner and should have scored, but Wout Weghorst’s finish was poor.

Jay Rodriguez was the next to be thwarted by Alisson at point-blank range, with Sadio Mane then blasting at Pope from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s delivery into the six-yard box a minute later.

Weghorst subsequently squandered another chance soon after and the Reds capitalised, Fabinho bundling over the line after Mane flicked on a corner.

Aside from a Ben Mee header, chances dried up drastically after the interval with the two teams’ combined xG for the second half up to the 80th minute sitting at just 0.15.

Mee nearly turned a Salah pass into his own net late on and Diogo Jota saw an effort deflected wide when he looked destined to score, but it mattered not for the Reds.

What does it mean? Liverpool show their grit

The first half was surely way more open than Klopp would have liked. While Burnley only had five shots, three were on target and those chances were worth 0.73 xG.

Liverpool were more threatening, but on another day it would not have been remotely surprising to see their opponents take at least one of their chances.

It would appear Klopp took action at half-time. Until the final five minutes or so, when games do tend to open up more, as a contest it became far tighter in terms of chance creation for both sides – given only Norwich (14) have scored fewer goals than Burnley (17) this season, that was always going to play into Liverpool’s hands.

Alisson more than plays his part

Brazil international Alisson has had his moments of uncertainty this season, but he was largely excellent here. He produced five saves in total – only once in his Premier League career has he needed to make more in a single game (six, against Southampton in May 2021).

Wasteful Weghorst

Dutch striker Weghorst was a nuisance to Liverpool, his movement keeping the backline on their toes, but his finishing left a lot to be desired, hitting the target just once from three attempts.

What’s next?

Liverpool now turn their attention to the Champions League as they go to Inter for the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday. Three days later they are at home to Norwich City in the Premier League, when Burnley go to Brighton and Hove Albion.