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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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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


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