Burnley vs. Liverpool: *Bumper* Post-Match Analysis

Paul Tomkins, Andrew Beasley, Daniel Rhodes and other TTT regulars will give their thoughts on the match for 24 hours after the game, so the article received via email is unlikely to be the final version. There's statistics from the match and videos too.

Post-Match Thoughts

Paul Tomkins

That was hard work. And that was just the officials.

Want to know how to stop Liverpool scoring? Just randomly disallow their goals. Find a reason, any reason.

When you're given Paul Tierney, Simon Hooper and David Coote over the festive period, it really does feel like a total “fuck you, Liverpool”. Officials who are constantly, objectively and provably bad for the club, all wrapped together. I’m just amazed that they didn’t add Darren England or bring Martin Atkinson out of retirement.

So far over the festive period: blatant handball at Arsenal – as the PGMOL knows – and which Dermot Gallagher confirmed as hand-to-ball, then a disallowed goal at Burnley for no clear or apparent foul as the opposition defender misjudged the ball, and then a great goal disallowed because Mo Salah was shoved with two hands into an offside position.

It's almost criminal. Almost.

Liverpool, with over half a dozen out injured and others in need of rest, went in with a far from best XI, but the 2-0 win was merited; only the goalkeeper, the ref and the VAR kept the score down.

Tierney's terribleness in Liverpool games is something I've frequently documented, but Hooper's last outing was to be part of disallowing an onside Liverpool goal and send two players off.

One of Coote's last involvements was to not see anything wrong with Jordan Pickford poleaxing Virgil van Dijk, and then in the same game disallowing Liverpool's last-gasp winner due for it being offside when clearly on. His one game as a ref with the Reds saw him fail to give a blatant penalty, against Burnley, at the Kop end, for a foul on Andy Robertson.

I've generally not focussed on the refs too much lately as I'm sick of them, but Tierney simply has to stop doing Liverpool games. I've been saying it for years.

Lately I’ve been focusing closely on where the Reds are scoring their goals from, and my article from a couple of days ago hasn't aged too badly.

Liverpool end the day top of the table, and Diogo Jota is back in the fold with a goal, while Darwin Núñez has broken his goal drought.

The second half of my analysis and the analysis of the others follows for subscribers only.