Liverpool's midweek match against Burnley in the league provided no real surprises. Liverpool managed a relatively easy win over a side struggling to get out of the relegation zone. Burnley had only won four times in 27 matches prior and had not won at Anfield in 41 years. Therefor, the mountain for them to climb was always going to be a difficult one and the Liverpool players made it even steeper by coming out and doing their jobs.
It was by no means a perfect game. The Reds failed to convert on chances that they may have if clicking on all cylinders, but ultimately it did not matter too much. Daniel Sturridge had a pretty good game. Obviously his form has had peaks and valleys since his return, but he remains a key for the squad to get into the top four by the end of the season. Sturridge scored a very good goal. Jordan Henderson sent in a beautiful cross from the right wing and Sturridge slipped between two defenders to nod in the second goal of the game. However, he failed to score on a breakaway and turned away from a cross that may have led to a goal as well.
Sturridge's game continues to evolve as he regains his fitness. When he is at his best, he continues to be a catalyst for good things for Liverpool. The only downside to his current form is, at times, he seems to be bitten by the Balotelli bug. There are brief times where the effort appears to not be there. There are times he shrinks back from challenges and does not go full boar the way he had last season. This is forgivable given the several injuries he accrued before finally settling back in the team this year, but one can only hope that once he feels 100% confident that he will attack without holding back.
This was one of those games where there really wasn't a whole lot to glean from it. Liverpool won, which they were expected to do. They held onto the ball for the majority of the game, which they were expected to do. They limited the chances of their opponent, which given Burnley's goal differential of minus 20 before the match, didn't seem like too tall of an order.
Things were not negative coming out of this game though, despite the lack of enthusiasm from yours truly. Liverpool could have had more goals and should have, but other than that they did what they needed to do. They needed to win to stay within reach of the top four and did so, not knowing how the results of other matches were going. They got the victory without really expending a lot of energy as well, which is a definite plus given the 120 minutes they poured into their match against Besiktas and the emotion it took to get a victory over Manchester City only 3 days later. In addition to that, they got another clean sheet, which is something they struggled to do at the beginning of the year but are now getting in regularity.
As a team, nothing spectacular came from the match but as individuals there were several top notch performances. Coutinho continues to show that when his head is in the game, he is a game changer. He has speed, touch, shiftiness, an eye for the pass and an ability to score. The fact that Liverpool locked him up for several more years is a definite plus. Emre Can continues to show improvement and versatility. He is solid enough to use as part of the back three, but has shown the talent going forward and on the ball that he will be a very useful talent in the midfield in the years to come. Some have even gone as far to say that he will be the one to step into Steven Gerrard's shoes. I think those shoes are too big for Can to fill alone, but he definitely seems capable of making that void not as wide.
Joe Allen has also become quite the player in the recent weeks. He hasn't done anything flashy or put his name on the score sheet, but that is the point. Many fans, pundits and even myself often questioned why he was even in the squad, let alone the starting XI. Allen was weak on the ball, failed to win challenges and made poor decisions in his passing game in the first half of the season. But he has stepped up in a huge way since Gerrard's injury. By no means has the Welshman played like Gerrard, but he hasn't made mistakes and that's what you look for from a player of his quality. He doesn't need to make the flashy passes or fancy moves. He doesn't need to make pinpoint crosses or even stay on the ball long. He needs to be a linchpin in the midfield and an extra defender when needed and he has done just that.
Then there is Jordan Henderson. Henderson had plenty of scrutiny brought upon him with the penalty kick controversy a few weeks ago. He wasn't given a totally fair shake due to many assuming he will automatically be made captain once Gerrard comes to America. He did himself no favors by not playing particularly well either. However, the past few games he has really stepped up his game and not just due to the fact he has scored. Henderson has grown over the past couple weeks and dealt with adversity very well. He shrugged off the Europa League nonsense and came up huge for his team. Henderson scored an incredible goal in a big match against City that would have been the goal of the month or week, if not for Coutinho's strike. Then he scored a cracker of a shot against Burnley and dropped a cross right onto Sturridge's head for the insurance tally. Henderson might not be the captain in future years and will definitely never be the next Gerrard, but as long as he's the best Jordan Henderson he can be then he has justified his place in this club.
The bottom line is that Liverpool continue to win. Win pretty, win ugly, with with style or just get the job done. They did that today. It won't go down in the annals of Anfield as an historic or memorable match, but it didn't need to be. Over the course of a season, there are so many matches that it's impossible to show flair and style every single time. Even the super-clubs like Barcelona or Bayern Munich can't accomplish that. In the end, as long as the club continues to win then it doesn't matter how it was accomplished. Just continue to win and the rest will take care of itself.
Walk On
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