Maybe Burnley is the place to come to celebrate Christmas after all. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had made a tongue-in-cheek jibe at a recent fan event to suggest that nobody would want to spend Boxing Day here.
But as it ended up, Burnley was the scene for quite the festive feast for Liverpool’s fans and players. Those travelling Kopites were in fine voice, serenading their stars and toasting to not just any victory, but one that sends them top of the table for 48 hours at least.
Diogo Jota’s stoppage-time goal added to Darwin Nunez’s strike after six minutes as Liverpool returned to winning ways following back-to-back league draws. And to many fans, there was no place they would rather be on Boxing Day than in that jubilant away end.
That sentiment was not contagious to the home fans, though. At times Turf Moor felt like Turf Morgue. It would be a stretch to describe the atmosphere as frustrated or annoyed about the performance, it was just silence - Vincent Kompany’s side failed to lay a glove on Liverpool.
It would be strange to rule that the Reds were below their best level as Klopp’s men could have easily racked up a high score, with players taking it in turns to miss clear-cut chances. But on another day, Burnley might have nicked an equaliser and punished Liverpool’s profligacy.
Liverpool moved top of the Premier League table after a 2-0 win against Burnley on Boxing Day
Darwin Nunez (middle) opened the scoring with a composed strike in the sixth minute
Substitute Diogo Jota later doubled the Reds' advantage after coming off the bench
By the time Johann Berg Gudmunsson headed over the bar from short range in Burnley’s only real chance, though, the Clarets were very lucky to still be in the game. Liverpool, 1-0 up at the time, had seen two goals disallowed and missed a multitude of clear-cut chances.
Aside from a five-minute flurry in the second half, Kompany’s men offered no reason to suggest they will put up any fight at all in the battle for survival. Instead, the relegation-threatened team spent the day acting as extras in a show of shooting practice for Liverpool’s forwards.
Burnley’s lack of defensive steel was welcomed by out-of-form Nunez, who might have put ‘scoring a goal’ top of his Christmas list. He got his reward with a fine, side-footed finish to end a goal drought that had started after November 2 and lasted for 12 matches.
The Uruguayan started the move, was clattered but got back to his feet and made a late charge towards the penalty area, where Cody Gakpo pulled the ball back to Nunez to simply pass into the far corner. After some bad misses and rushed shots this season, it was a composed finish.
Young goalkeeper James Trafford did not stand a chance with Nunez’s goal but the star of England’s Under 21s triumph put in a near-perfect display from there on, thwarting Ryan Gravenberch, Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo with full-stretch saves.
Burnley were often the architects of their own downfall as sloppiness led to more Liverpool chances, with Jordan Beyer almost gifting Nunez a second goal by losing the ball. Vitinho also lost sight of a long pass and allowed Cody Gakpo a good opening.
Salah hit the bar and saw another tipped over by Trafford. Gakpo rifled the ball into the net on 28 minutes as Liverpool players took turns to test Trafford but Burnley were bailed out by a somewhat soft foul in the build-up, with Nunez adjudged to have bundled over Charlie Taylor.
The location of the dugouts at Burnley make managers more susceptible to a bit of lip from fans as they are required to march across the pitch at half-time and Kompany was the victim of a smattering of boos from home supporters in the Barnfield Construction Stand at the break.
Jurgen Klopp's side now sit two points ahead of Arsenal, who play West Ham on Thursday
Substitute Jota struck from a tight angle to ensure that Liverpool left with all three points
Harvey Elliott also found the back of the net before seeing it ruled out by VAR
Those fans were finally spurned into life on 55 minutes, though, when referee Paul Tierney ruled out what would have been a second Liverpool goal to end the contest. It came after a zapping move starring Harvey Elliott and Gravenberch, but Salah was interfering with play and offside.
Burnley’s players replicated the new-found energy on the terraces as, all of a sudden, they were quicker to loose balls and played with some belief in possession. Wilson Odobert was the pick of the bunch, and the Frenchman nearly created an equaliser against the run of play.
The French winger, signed from Troyes in the summer, dashed past Trent Alexander-Arnold and hung the ball in the air for substitute Gudmunsson, but the experienced Iceland international headed wide at the back post with Alisson scrambling across his goal line.
Burnley came up short when in battle with Jurgen Klopp's side in the Boxing Day fixture
Vincent Kompany's side were feeble opposition and Liverpool will not learn many lessons