http://www.footytube.com/video/burnley-vs-liverpool-1st-highlight-40785
After losing to Atletico in midweek, Liverpool returned to league action with an away game to relegation threatened Burnley.. With a see-saw of results for the other Champions League contenders, Liverpool had to make sure that they took maximum points to keep alive their faint hopes of finishing 4th ..
Starting with a 4-4-1-1 formation , Kuyt led the line upfront alongwith Gerrard in support, and Aquilani got a place in the midfield alongside Masch,Maxi and Babel..There was also the surprise inclusion of Daniel Ayala in defense..
This game was equally important for the Clarets in their bid to retain their Premier League status, so both the teams knew they had to win with their different priorities..
The home team started the game very brightly and created the lion share of the chances, with Steven Fletcher very lively upfront, and the service was also good with balls crossed into the box.. Liverpool finally started to come into the game with a quarter of an hour gone, and created a few decent openings with Babel running at Mears and hitting his shot wide and Gerrard bringing a save out of Jensen with his effort in the box..The problem they were having for the majority of the time was not being able to keep possession..The ref brought the 1st half to a close with neither side making any headway..
The second half though, was a different story altogether..with just a few minutes gone, Gerrard took control of the ball and took a shot at goal, and unluckily for Burnley, it took a massive deflection off Cork to give Liverpool the lead..
But if his first one was fortuitous , then his second was a belter.. Aquilani receives a lob pass from Maxi , but loses his footing.. which sets it up perfectly for the onrushing Gerrard, who curls an absolute beauty past Jensen to double the lead.. The third came shortly after.. Maxi latched onto a through ball from Aquilani and finishes expertly past Jensen to score his first goal for the club..And then Liverpool rubbed salt on Burnley's wounds when Babel stayed onside for a pass by Lucas and put it past Jensen rather unconvincingly..
FINAL VERDICT - A very good , morale boosting win ahead of the crunch European tie at Anfield in midweek..
PLAYER RATINGS-
Reina - Made a few errors, but was still very solid..7
Johnson - No individual contribution, but played well at the back..6
Ayala - The Spanish youngster,apart from a fluffed clearance in the 1st period, was solid alongside
Carra..7
Carragher - Gave his usual , top notch performance. 8
Agger- Played ok but doesn't look very comfortable in the Left Back position .. 6
Babel - Very lively during the opening exchanges, played well up top in the second period..7
Masch - 7
Aquilani - Showed some good touches, lovely through ball for Maxi's goal.. 7
Maxi - The Argentine finally got on the score sheet .. 7
Gerrard - MOTM.. Brilliant second goal..Just what we needed from our captain..8
Kuyt- Very disappointing..5
Benayoun- Aided play well after coming on.. 6
Lucas - Just for his cheeky lob for Babel's goal..5
Pacheco - Did little after coming on..4
A word of appreciation for the Clarets fans.. Their defiance in going down cheering for their team was admirable..
YNWA
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