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Burnley logo
Premier League | Gameweek 4
Aug 31, 2019 at 5.30pm UK
 
Liverpool logo

0-3

FT(HT: 0-2)
Wood (33' og.), Mane (37'), Firmino (80')

Jordan Henderson defends Sadio Mane's angry reaction to Mohamed Salah

Jordan Henderson defends Sadio Mane's angry reaction to Mohamed Salah
© Reuters
The Liverpool forward reacted angrily following his substitution in the victory against Burnley.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson believes Sadio Mane's angry display at Burnley shows the level of competitiveness which burns within the squad.

With the score at 3-0 Mane, scorer of the second just before half-time, was substituted but apparently annoyed by Mohamed Salah's failure to pass to him moments earlier and the Senegal international produced an emotional reaction on the bench.

Henderson and Joe Gomez were among the players to put an arm around the 27-year-old in an attempt to placate him and after the match manager Jurgen Klopp said everything had been smoothed over.

Jordan Henderson was pleased to see the reaction of Sadio Mane after the goalscorer was substituted
Jordan Henderson was pleased to see the reaction of Sadio Mane after the goalscorer was substituted (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Henderson, however, said he was pleased to see it – even if it was from the usually mild-mannered Mane.

"I've seen it now and again (from him). Sadio is fine, he's a great lad," said the England international.

"That's just us pushing each other all the time. I think that's important. We all want to do better, we all want to improve, but we're really close and I think we can deal with that.

"I'm not sure (what set him off) to be honest. I couldn't really understand at first but then when he came in, he was laughing and joking.

Liverpool went ahead when Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross deflected in off Chris Wood
Liverpool went ahead when Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross deflected in off Chris Wood (Anthony Devlin/PA)

"The most important thing was we got the result, Sadio knows that. He performed really well again. Him and Bobby were really big second ball. He had a fantastic game.

"Like I said, we want to push each other. We want to improve all the time, I quite like that now and again. I think we need it."

Having overpowered Arsenal last weekend this was a different type of performance, weathering Burnley's early fire to grind their way through the tough passages before effortlessly moving through the gears when opportunities arose.

The breakthrough came from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross which deflected off Chris Wood and ballooned into the top corner.

Roberto Firmino was on target during Liverpool's win at Burnley
Roberto Firmino was on target during Liverpool's win at Burnley (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Their second was classic Liverpool: forcing the opponent – on this occasion Ben Mee – into a mistake with Roberto Firmino capitalising to release Mane for a well-taken goal.

Firmino became the first Brazilian to score 50 Premier League goals when he launched and finished an 80th-minute counter-attack.

It was a clinical and professional performance which extended the top-flight's only 100 percent record to four matches and ensured they took a two-point cushion over Manchester City, who had briefly gone top having played earlier, into the international break.

For the first time in their history Liverpool have won their first four league matches in back-to-back seasons but Henderson insisted the standards they are setting were not considered by the players to be sending a 'catch us if you can' message to their rivals.

"We're not setting them for anyone else, we're setting them for ourselves. That's what we want to do," he added.

"We want to win every week, we want to perform every week and that's difficult because there are so many good sides in the Premier League and in Europe. It's really hard.

"Again for us, it's game by game. We come up against different tests each week and it's about giving everything every time we go onto the football pitch and we will see where we are at the end of the season.

"For me it's just about concentrating on what we need to do. We have been very mature in our performances, especially away from home.

"We want to continue that form, keep doing the right things, keep working hard as a team. If we do that, we can put on performances like that."

Sean Dyche was satisfied with the performance of his players despite losing to Liverpool
Sean Dyche was satisfied with the performance of his players despite losing to Liverpool (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Burnley manager Sean Dyche was satisfied with the performance despite not having won since the opening day of the season.

He felt his players had to learn from the likes of Liverpool if they were to improve.

"I do think these and Man City are the best," he said.

"If you turn the ball over in a bad area the number of times they capitalise on it and at least get a chance changes the mentality of the game.

"You learn from these top teams. When we worked in transition we didn't find those killer moments."

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Sadio Mane celebrates scoring during the Premier League game between Burnley and Liverpool on August 31, 2019
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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