Liverpool 4-2 Burnley

Goals:
Westwood 6'
Firmino 19' 68'
Mané 29' 90+3'
Gudmundsson 90+1'

Liverpool often face adversity when playing Burnley. And somehow usually thrive.

The reverse fixture: a 3-1 win after conceding first, stifled for over an hour but immediately replying to Burnley's opener. Last season: 2-1 at Burnley thanks to Klavan's late winner after Burnley equalized in the 87th minute and a 1-1 draw after Salah canceled out Arfield's opener. And at Anfield in 2016-17, another comeback win after conceding in the opening seven minutes.

It's yet another comeback win after conceding first. After conceding stupidly and unfairly and the world is ending it's happening again the title's gone and we're all gonna die. It's Liverpool behind, but not for long, and then Burnley not in the match.

This opener takes some beating. A corner that never should have been, but Jöel Matip gets his wires crossed on a hopeful hoof forward. Alisson fouled by two different Burnley players as Westwood's cross comes in, uncalled, as Westwood's cross goes directly into Liverpool's goal. For Westwood's first goal for Burnley, his first goal in three years. For the first goal that Liverpool have conceded in 517 minutes of football. A day after Manchester City opened the scoring in their match with one of the most offside goals you'll see. Six minutes into today's match.

So that didn't start well.

It finished just fine.

Firmino equalizes within 13 minutes, tapping in after both Tarkowski and Heaton muddle up Salah's low byline cross. Mané gives Liverpool the lead after Lallana's pressing blocks a Burnley clearance, falling straight to Salah, tackled by Taylor but the rebound rammed home. Firmino extends that lead after a period of dominance without reward, another rebound from another Taylor tackle on Salah, this time set up by Heaton's goal kick going directly to the Egyptian.

Burnley give us a tiny fright, Gudmundsson pulling one back in the first minute of added time, Liverpool switched off and failing to clear before Vydra slid in his fellow substitute, but Mané relieved it two minutes later, rounding Heaton when put through by Sturridge's wonderful through ball from the flanks.

4-2 is somehow closer than it should have been and a wider margin than it should have been.

Liverpool could easily have scored more, but Mané hit the crossbar from about four yards out late on, Burnley made a few last-ditch interceptions and blocks that didn't fall directly to Liverpool players, and Liverpool's attack – read: Mohamed Salah – still isn't firing on all cylinders despite those four goals. And fortune almost made full amends for Burnley's opener, with Liverpool getting help for three of their four goals. Either Tarkowski or Heaton should have cleared before Firmino's tap-in; Bardsley could have avoided Lallana's pressing, with both Lallana's block falling straight to Salah and Taylor's tackle falling straight to Mané; and Heaton's goal kick going directly to Salah, again with a Burnley tackle setting up Mané. Three unassisted goals, with the last touch coming off Burnley defenders.

It wasn't quite Bournemouth or Watford, as a rampant Liverpool attack utterly dismissed an opponent. But it's still four goals. And still three points.

And once again, there are parallels with recent matches. Palace at Anfield, as Palace score first but Liverpool score four. But Burnley were nowhere near as threatening as Palace, both because Burnley does not have Palace's players and because Liverpool's defense was even more in control despite conceding twice.

Burnley took just three shots. Three. And they were lucky to get that. There was that corner. Hendrick from distance in the 34th minute, swiftly blocked. That late, unnecessary consolation. Virgil van Dijk, with help from his friends, allowed no more. It's weird to say when scoring four and conceding two, but Liverpool's defense remains Liverpool's best feature.

Still, Burnley did beat Tottenham two weeks ago, did draw 2-2 at Manchester United a little over a month. They've scored in six of their last seven games, with at least two in four of them. Sean Dyche remains the most hateable anti-football warlock, especially now that Stoke and Tony Pulis are out of the league.

So, regardless of the score line, it wasn't the most coherent performance. It wasn't the most thorough attack, but again a multi-goal performance at Anfield, as against both Bournemouth and Watford. Lallana, in a surprise start, might well have been Liverpool's most impressive player, a needed link between midfield and attack, especially since crosses were almost an impossibility in that wind. But Firmino and Mané both scored twice; Salah did *okay* despite failing to score for the fifth game, at least in position to get chances and set up teammates even if again too often tackled by a last defender as at Everton; Fabinho remains almost as crucial to protecting Liverpool from counters and long balls as Virgil van Dijk; and Robertson was more influential than usual, needed with Alexander-Arnold off-color.

It was good enough. Good enough to get all three points, good enough to keep Liverpool just a point behind Manchester City. More than good enough, because at this point of the season, the points are all that matters. Somehow get goals, somehow keep the other guys from doing so. By any means, etc. And it's even more encouraging that Liverpool, yet again, did so despite a set-back through little fault of their own, despite conceding with the match barely started.

The chase, now that it's become a chase, remains on. When it could easily have been lost by a less resilient side.