Liverpool Struggles Continue with Draw Against Burnley
Once again, the final whistle at Anfield was met with boos from a portion of the home crowd.
This marks the first time since the 1980-81 season that Liverpool has failed to secure a victory in any of their three home league matches against newly promoted teams.
Under the management of Arne Slot, Liverpool drew 1-1 with Sunderland last month, followed by a 0-0 stalemate against Leeds on New Year's Day. The latest 1-1 draw against Burnley has completed this disappointing trio.
When asked about the discontent from fans, Slot acknowledged, "In my mind, it wasn't booing but rather frustration. If Liverpool is not disappointed with a draw at home against Burnley, then something is fundamentally wrong."
He added, "I completely understand the frustration. I share the same feelings, and the players certainly feel the same way as the fans do."
Despite the result, Slot's team performed well against Burnley, who managed to score from their only shot on target during the match.
The statistics reveal a stark contrast: Liverpool recorded 76 touches in the opposition's box, took 32 shots, with 11 on target, and an expected goals (xG) of 2.95.
"I agree that we should have won this game," Slot told Match of the Day. "There wasn't much more I could ask for in terms of creating chances. We held a lot of possession, but I would like us to create even more opportunities."
He continued, "If we play a bit more openly, you always worry about the other team’s counter-attacks, which we managed to contain. I can’t recall how many chances we had, but we only managed to score once."
At the beginning of the second half, it seemed imminent that Liverpool would extend their lead after Florian Wirtz's first-half goal. The famous chant from the Kop echoed, proclaiming, "A team that plays the Liverpool way."
While it wasn't the high-tempo football fans are accustomed to, Liverpool showed renewed vigor, effectively breaking through Burnley's defense.
Wirtz came close to scoring again, and Cody Gakpo had a shot cleared off the line. However, out of the blue, Burnley equalized through Marcus Edwards, silencing the Anfield crowd.
Slot remarked, "I wouldn't say we switched off, but we did struggle to play the ball out from the back. This encapsulates a significant portion of our season, and today was no different."
In retrospect, had Dominik Szoboszlai converted a first-half penalty, the outcome might have been different. Nevertheless, Liverpool should have secured the win long before Burnley's equalizer.
"This isn't the first time this has happened. It’s often frustrating," Slot stated. "There are various ways it occurs; sometimes we score a stoppage-time goal expecting to win, only to concede another goal in stoppage time."
He added, "In football, one team can have two chances—one of which was nearly an own goal by us—and score once, while the other team has multiple opportunities but also only scores once."
Liverpool remains unbeaten in 12 games, but the concerning aspect is that during this stretch of four consecutive league draws, they should have won at least three matches.
Aside from the draw at Arsenal, they have dropped points at home against Leeds and Burnley and failed to maintain a lead at Fulham, despite scoring in the 94th minute.
Those additional six points would have placed Liverpool at 42 points, seven points clear of Manchester United in fifth and just one point behind Manchester City and Aston Villa, currently second and third.
Slot concluded, "We have dropped far too many points when we didn't deserve to, and we rarely earned points when we deserved less. We can only blame ourselves."
On a positive note, Liverpool can anticipate the return of forward Mohamed Salah in the coming days. Salah also missed a penalty in Egypt's recent defeat to Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations third-place playoff but is expected back on Merseyside shortly.
With upcoming matches against Marseille and Bournemouth, having their star player back will undoubtedly be beneficial for Liverpool.