Liverpool Drop Points in Frustrating Home Draw Despite Dominance over Burnley

Liverpool were dominant against Burnley at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday but could only earn a 1-1 draw.

Scott Arfield opened the scoring against the run of play with a fine finish 27 minutes into proceedings only for Mohamed Salah to equalise with a low shot three minutes later.

Liverpool then squandered countless good attacking positions as Burnley defended stoutly against a constant stream of forays forward from the hosts.

Dominic Solanke had Liverpool's best chance to win the game late on, but his instinctive volley ricocheted off the crossbar, and Jurgen Klopp's men had to settle for a point. 

Squawka provided the team news ahead of kick-off, with Philippe Coutinho included in Liverpool's starting XI for the first time in 2017-18:

The hosts were quick out of the blocks but had only half-chances from Daniel Sturridge and Trent Alexander-Arnold to show for it after 20 minutes.

Burnley then took full advantage of their first genuine spell of pressure and possession as Arfield fired home a crisp finish from the edge of the box to put the visitors ahead largely against the run of play.

Typically for Liverpool, they were culpable for some poor defending, with the ball falling to Arfield in space after both Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip went for the same ball, per football writer Chris Williams:

It took just three minutes for Salah to equalise. The Egyptian forward collected Emre Can's ball through the middle on the edge of the box and, after two quick touches, coolly finished low past goalkeeper Nick Pope. 

Despite immense pressure, Burnley managed to reach the break with the score still at 1-1, but Liverpool's dominance continued into the second half.

There was a frustrating lack of quality at key moments from the hosts, and their best chance to take the lead before the hour mark came when Can fizzed a fearsome shot from 20 yards that Pope could only parry away—a well-positioned James Tarkowski mopped up the ball. 

The Clarets batted back wave upon wave of intricate Liverpool attacks.

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While Liverpool often failed to find the killer finish and should have been more clinical, Burnley were consistently fantastic in defence, with Tarkowski, in particular, intervening at crucial moments with a well-timed block or tackle. 

Sean Dyche's side almost claimed all three points as they managed to gain some territory late on, with Ben Mee seeing powerful headers from consecutive corners cleared off the line in the final 10 minutes, first by Matip, then goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Substitute Solanke then hit the woodwork from inside the six-yard box with four minutes to go after Salah had been felled in the penalty area.

It was a tough chance for the 20-year-old, as the ball came to him at an awkward angle, and it turned out to be Liverpool's final genuine opportunity to take all three points from the match.