If there’s one team that doesn’t need a reminder of how brutal the Premier League can be, it’s Burnley. But they’ve still had one anyway.
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Scott Parker's verdict on penalty and red card drama during Burnley v Liverpool](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/scott-parkers-verdict-on-penalty-and-red-card-drama-during-burnley-v-liverpool-5316799 "Scott Parker's verdict on penalty and red card drama during Burnley v Liverpool")
Gut-wrenching, cruel, heart-breaking, call it what you want, this one hurts. Well they all do, losing any game at the death isn’t particularly fun, especially when they come in this fashion, but this one especially wrangles.
When you deliver such a well-disciplined display of defending, cutting down the angles, denial of space, remaining switched-on and fully concentrated at all times, dealing with set pieces and posing the odd problem or two on the break, you feel you deserve a reward for your efforts.
But for the second game running, Burnley left empty-handed despite doing very little, if anything, wrong.
But forget the Manchester United game for a second, as painful as that stoppage-time winner was too. This is a proper team we’re talking about here. Liverpool are the reigning champions, they’re top of the tree with four wins from four, if they’re not the best team in Europe they’re second or third. Even when they’ve not been at their convincing best at the start of this season, they’re still managing to find a way.
Liverpool didn’t have an answer to Burnley’s rearguard action. Even when Lesley Ugochukwu was sent off late on, they still couldn’t find a way through. That’s because there simply was no way through, it was an impenetrable wall they were facing.
Quildindschy Hartman feels the pain of defeat. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Quildindschy Hartman feels the pain of defeat. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Instead, the Reds’ expensively-assembled squad of elite, world-class stars, were left to resort to hopeful crosses into the Burnley box. Scott Parker’s side can deal with that all day, every day and twice on Sunday.
The problem is, one of those crosses cannoned into the elbow of Hannibal from all of three yards away and, with the midfielder turning his back and raising his arm, referee Michael Oliver had no option but to point to the penalty spot.
Mo Salah did the rest, dispatching in ruthless fashion with the only meaningful contribution he made all day. Quilindschy Hartman and Maxime Esteve otherwise marked him out of the game completely.
That was just one of the plethora of things Burnley got right on the day. But still they came away with nothing.
Burnley huddle before kick off. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Burnley huddle before kick off. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Just deserts
This is what hurts the most. Without getting too deep and philosophical, when you don’t get what you deserve, it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself, perhaps even attach external blame.
But these defeats, the last-gasp setbacks against United and Liverpool, will only strengthen Burnley’s resolve – of that Parker is adamant.
The Clarets have been more than competitive in all four games so far this season, and yet they still have three defeats to their name. The top flight is just utterly savage.
Florentino Luis impressed off the bench on his Burnley debut. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Florentino Luis impressed off the bench on his Burnley debut. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
It could easily have been so different though. While Burnley were deservedly beaten at Tottenham, the 3-0 scoreline was incredibly harsh, 2-1 would have been a fairer reflection of proceedings.
The Clarets beat Sunderland, inflicting the Black Cats’ only defeat to date, and were minutes away from drawing against both United and Liverpool. If that had been the case, they’d be sat level on points with Newcastle in 10th.
But it didn’t transpire and they’re not, so Parker and his players must use this latest disappointment – as sore as it was – and use it as fuel, beginning with Nottingham Forest next week.
Masterplan
Tactically, Parker and his backroom staff got this one absolutely spot on.
Ignore the trolls from rival fans on social media, venting their diatribe about Burnley’s defensive setup and questioning why they were happy to give up possession and sit in a deep block.
Mohamed Salah scores the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Mohamed Salah scores the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
For a start, that does a huge disservice to Burnley’s tactical masterplan, which almost completely nullified a Liverpool side that scored 86 times in the league last season on their way to the title and has since added over £400m worth of talent this summer – most of it attacking, don’t forget.
These are the same people that lambasted the Clarets for being so easy to beat and play against during their last, all-too-brief jaunt in the Premier League two years ago.
Burnley have rightly learned their lessons from that horror campaign under Vincent Kompany, where they collected a measly 24 points. When they faced the top sides during that season, they failed to even lay a glove on them. This time round, the Clarets are far from pushovers.
Are we really expecting Burnley to open up and have a go at Liverpool? That would be music to the ears of Gakpo, Salah, Ekitike and co, with reams of space to run into.
It’s almost like Burnley are meant to roll over for the top sides and make it easy for them. How dare they make life difficult for us? Be competitive against everyone else, sure, we don’t want the newly-promoted sides to stink up the place again. Just not against us.
Encouraged
Once the dust settles, Parker will be able to take so many positives from this latest display.
Esteve was at his brilliant best, far better than the other French centre-back on the pitch. Hartman and Foster were my other two standouts. But this was a collective team display, it wasn’t about individual brilliance.
Hannibal shouldn’t be treated too harshly either, nor Ugochukwu. It was a careless error for the penalty and it cost Burnley, but there was no intent. It was just a moment of misfortune.
But if the Clarets are able to perform like this on a regular basis, as they have done so far this term, they’ll give themselves more than a fighting chance.
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