Liverpool 2 Burnley 0: Henderson the decisive factor

If Champions League football is to grace Anfield for the second successive season Brendan Rodgers side may just have to do their own ground work.   In addition to Southampton’s win the previous evening, the remaining six of the top seven all won.

Liverpool made only one change with Sturridge starting ahead of Markovic.  The striker linked up with Raheem Sterling and Adam Lalllana in the opening minute before firing in a shot from 12 yards which Heaton brilliantly pushed round the post.

Burnley showed enough early on to ensure it would not be a total walk over, but Liverpool controlled possession without much goal threat from away team and the Liverpool linked Danny Ings.

Liverpool were carrying the threat and Henderson’s first time volley from Heaton’s punch following Coutinho’s free-kick flashed over.   The England midfielder was a man on a mission, receiving Sterling pass he shot was tipped around the corner by the busy Heaton.

Henderson would not be denied and in the last few games has really taken on the mantle from his club captain.  Coutinho ducking in from the left saw his shot blocked by Keane, latching on to the breaking ball Henderson in a style and technique comparable to that of Steven Gerrard against Olympiakos, hit a blistering strike on the half-volley fading away from Heaton into the net.   Henderson is excelling in all facets of his game and the confidence is exuding through his passing and in particular his shooting.

Liverpool were playing with ease and control.  Philippe Coutinho almost repeated his goal against Man City with a curling effort which only just failed to come back enough.   Burnley’s efforts to build any sort of momentum were limited by the domination of the Liverpool midfield.

Coutinho sent Sturridge through on goal only to see effort brilliantly blocked by Heaton and Joe Allen shot just over from nearly 35 yards.

If there was one gripe it was that with the chances amassed Liverpool should have been home and hosed and Brendan Rodgers would have felt ill at ease at the break.

Liverpool’s supremacy was unremitting in the second-half and it didn’t take long for driving force Jordan Henderson to show his class with a beautifully clipped ball to the back post for Sturridge to emphatically head past Heaton. 

Any hopes of a Burnley comeback disappeared with that goal although Sean Dyche’s side still had the occasional most moment.  Barnes pulled his shot wide of the goal after some decent build-up play. 

Make no mistake Burnley are a decent side and it doesn’t take any great stretch of the imagination to see them having some say in the fight for Champions League football.  Their next four games are against Man City, Southampton, Spurs and Arsenal and a win against one of these could hit hopes and help their own struggles toward survival.

Liverpool controlled the last half hour coasting through without much alarm.

Brendan Rodgers side have the momentum, unbeaten in 12 matches since the lost at Old Trafford and winning seven out of the last eight Premier League games.  Many will point to the return fixture against Man United as a crunch fixture, but its Blackburn next and chance put themselves firmly into the mix for a Wembley final.

Man of the Match: Jordan Henderson – Brilliant performance by the midfielder showing poise and power in abundance.  His goal was reminiscent of Gerrard’s explosive drive against Olympiakos and I can think of no bigger compliment than that.

Like Liverpool’s club captain he leads by example and as his manager remarked upon after the Man City game he is playing with an injured foot at the moment which says a lot about his mentality.  The cross for Sturridge’s goal showed vison and a lovely weight of touch and it demonstrates how much his game has developed beyond his renowned running power.

Critical eye:  Liverpool controlled Burnley from start to finish and if they had scored five it wouldn’t have flattered the score-line.  Sturridge getting on the score sheet will be a weight of his mind with his first League goal since the last day of January and he could so easily have scored two more.

Yet another clean sheet and the back three shackled the much vaunted and Liverpool linked Danny Ings, although he showed good close control and a willingness to run for loss causes.

The performance of Dejan Lovren will have done no harm in restoring his confidence.

Teams:

Liverpool 3-4-3

22 Mignolet, 23 Emre Can, 37 Martin Skrtel, 6 Dejan Lovren, 31 Raheem Sterling, 14 Jordan Henderson, 24 Joe Allen, 18 Alberto Moreno, 20 Adam Lallana, 15 Daniel Sturridge, 10 Philippe Coutinho

Substitutes: 2 Glen Johnson, 4 Kolo Toure, 9 Rickie Lambert, 45 Mario Balotelli, 49 Jordan Williams, 50 Lazar Markovic, 52 Danny Ward

Burnley 4-4-1-1

1 Tom Heaton, 2 Keiran Trippier, 25 Michael Keane, 5 Jason Shackell, 6 Ben Dee, 21 George Boyd, 14 David Jones, 37 Scott Arfield, 11 Michael Kightley, 30 Ashley Barnes, 10 Danny Ings

Substitutes: 4 Michael Duff, 7 Ross Wallace, 9 Sam Vokes, 18 Steven Reid, 19 Lukas Jutkiewicz, 22 Matthew Gilks, 23 Stephen Ward

Referee: Lee Mason

Attendance: 44,717