Jurgen Klopp embarrassed after Liverpool fume as Vincent Kompany bends Premier League rules
Manchester City were top of the Premier League for two and a half hours on Saturday, leapfrogging Liverpool courtesy of their 2-0 win over Everton in the lunchtime kick-off.
But the Reds provided an instant response as goals from Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez clinched a 3-1 victory over Burnley to snatch back top spot. Consequently, Jurgen Klopp’s men maintained their two-point lead by defeating the Clarets, though the reigning champions do still have a game-in-hand over their title rivals.
With Anfield treated to a rare Saturday 3pm kick-off, proceedings were not televised live in the UK due to the Premier League broadcasting black-out. If you missed any of the action as a result, fortunately the ECHO were in place to keep you updated with every kick of the game.
But, as always, there were some incidents that perhaps went under the radar as Liverpool defeated Burnley. Here are some of the moments you might have missed…
‘Karma’ for Klopp after officials fume
Klopp was booked by referee Tim Robinson during the first half of the Reds’ win over Burnley after protesting that his side should have been awarded a penalty.
Jota was hauled to the floor as a Burnley defender essentially bear-hugged him from behind, only for the officials to wave play on with no VAR intervention. Klopp was not impressed, recreating the supposed foul by gesturing with his arms, before shouting directly at the referee.
Booked as a result, he would later fume in the second half when Harvey Elliott had appeared to win a throw for Liverpool, only for the assistant referee to fail to spot the contact on the ball from the Burnley man.
Klopp collapsed to the floor to beat the ground in anger, before losing his footing when standing back up and collapsing into John Achterberg - much to the amusement of the goalkeeping coach who managed to prevent both from falling over.
The officials would perhaps consider it ‘karma’ for Klopp’s theatrics, but the sheepish German had the last laugh come the final whistle as Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners.
Embarking on his trademark fistpumps celebration in front of the Kop, he then turned to do it to the Anfield Road end before finishing by recreating it for the Main Stand. But not before gesturing for those in the stand to calm down.
Could it be a light-hearted reference to accusations of over-celebrating, following Arsenal’s win over the Reds last weekend, given its frequency in the headlines this week? Only Klopp will know.
Kompany’s sneaky Clarets
Visiting goalkeeper James Trafford regularly irked the home crowd with his casual time-keeping when restarting proceedings during Saturday’s game. But that was by no means Burnley’s only use of the dark arts as they tried in vain to get a result against the odds at Anfield.
In the first half, Dara O’Shea was booked for bringing a second ball onto the pitch after an unsuccessful Clarets set-piece to prevent Caoimhin Kelleher from taking a quick goal-kick and granting the defender more time to trot back to his traditional position.
Meanwhile, in the second half when Maxime Esteve was forced to leave the field after receiving treatment, manager Vincent Kompany used the break in play to call his entire team over for an impromptu water-break as they received instructions.
This included Trafford, with the shot-stopper leisurely strolling back to his penalty area to eventually restart proceedings. Such a delay ensured that Esteve had walked all the way round the pitch and back to the halfway line before play had even resumed, with Burnley temporarily playing with 10 men for mere moments as a result. Sneaky but effective.
Kelleher wardrobe malfunction
With Alisson Becker absent because of flu, Kelleher was handed a rare Premier League start in goal. Not that you would have known that if looking at his shorts.
In a slight wardrobe malfunction, the Irishman was actually wearing a pair reserved for cup competitions. This was evident by the change of font for his numbering, with his number 62 also not containing the Premier League logo.
With Liverpool not in action again until they travel to Brentford next Saturday, with their next home Premier League match against Luton Town on February 21, the Reds will be hopeful that Alisson has overcome illness to face the Bees and Hatters.
Consequently, the club’s kit men won’t need to rush to find Kelleher’s Premier League shorts. They better keep his cup pair safe though! He’ll of course need them for the League Cup final against Chelsea on February 25, with it already confirmed that Klopp intends to start him at Wembley.
Earful for Endo
It took Wataru Endo less than 10 minutes to receive an earful from Virgil van Dijk when making his Reds return after Asian Cup duty.
The Japan international had missed seven games over the past month due to his mid-season exploits, with it perhaps understandable why he took a little time to re-adjust to his role back at Anfield.
Consequently, the Liverpool captain wasted no time in pushing the 31-year-old forward and urging him to not drop so deep. In an impressive performance, he did not make the same mistake again.
Meanwhile, one lone Reds supporter behind the press box was clearly delighted to see Endo back in Klopp’s starting XI. During the second half, he started chanting the Japanese’s name to the tune of ‘Heigh-ho’ from Disney’s ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.’ It did not catch on.
