Vincent Kompany believes Liverpool are approaching the same levels of their title-winning pomp under Jurgen Klopp after they defeated his Burnley side.

Goals at either end of the game from Darwin Nunez and substitute Diogo Jota earned the Reds a 2-0 win at Turf Moor on Tuesday evening.

The victory was sufficient to move Liverpool back to the Premier League summit, with Arsenal not in action until they entertain West Ham United on Thursday nigh.

 

As a player, Kompany was part of the Manchester City side that tussled with the Reds for several years in memorable title battles.

And asked about Klopp’s side, the Burnley boss said: “It’s a top team, there’s no doubt. You play against the top sides and what’s really apparent especially in this league is that every team at the top has a different style and different idea behind it, different strengths.

“Liverpool have different strengths to Tottenham, Arsenal and City. To be top in Premier League you have to have top players.

“Funny thing, I was kind of thinking when I played against probably one of the greatest sides they’ve had in recent history and, look, the quality only future will tell but in terms of intensity they are getting back to the levels I know when I faced against them as a player.”

Liverpool had two goals controversially disallowed to give Burnley hope of earning a point until Jota’s late strike.

And Kompany said: “We played against a top side, I don’t think the scenario of the game was too bad in terms of being in the game, and then having a late push to get a result. We had our moments, we can’t prevent them from having a moment because they are a top side, but we had our moments as well.

“The team fights, the team is alive, the team is entertaining, it just lacks that little bit of final touch at the moment to reward ourselves. I keep saying I see them working every single day and I have no doubt they will make that step.”

Kompany added: “It was a game where if you look at how dominant Liverpool were in the first half it’ll tell you one side of the half but I felt we had big, big transition opportunities.

“I felt that there in the first half. But we weren’t as solid as we needed to be to benefit from that. The second half we were a little bit more solid and had more moments because of it and looked more dangerous.”

 

Liverpool beat Burnley 2-0 thanks to goals from Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota. Ryan Gravenberch missed a chance to impress but the ex-Ajax man’s talent is clear.

Ryan Gravenberch hasn’t quite ignited yet at Liverpool, but the signs are still positive. (Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

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TURF MOOR, BURNLEY // Goals from Darwin Núñez and then eventually Diogo Jota sealed an important win for Liverpool against Burnley in the Premier League. The Reds toiled in front of goal for large parts but did more than enough to earn a victory.

In the coming weeks, more challenges will arrive for Liverpool to traverse and it will be useful if the likes of Luis Díaz can find some form, but the festive period is always remembered more for results than performances. Liverpool was dominant and controlled, and only missing a more clinical edge in the final third.

Burnley offered little aside from a couple of snapshots but a two-goal lead is always a safer one than a one-goal advantage. Liverpool will have wanted more goals earlier and should probably have had them, but the quality eventually told.

Here are the three moments Liverpool.com picked out from the Reds’ 2-0 victory at Turf Moor against Vincent Kompany’s side. For a couple of days, at least, Jürgen Klopp’s side will be the top-ranked team in the country.

The Good

The return of Diogo Jota was definitely a welcome sight for Liverpool. It didn’t take long for him to show exactly why he will be so important over the next few weeks: he scores goals and they are usually decisive.

Díaz, who has avoided a lay-off after limping off against Arsenal last Saturday, was also back, though he is not in quite the same kind of form. The Colombian needs an upturn in performance soon but the return of Jota might well allow that to happen. The Portugal forward is the man best suited to playing from the start at the moment and that would seem likely against Newcastle.

Elsewhere, Jarell Quansah was superb again. In possession and in the rare moments that he was required to make blocks, he did his job very well indeed. Virgil van Dijk talked him through it all but Quansah is fast becoming a regular name on the teamsheet.

Now at the halfway point of the season, Liverpool is a full 13 points better off than at the same stage of the 2022/23 campaign. In fact, the last time it had more than 41 points after 19 games, it went on to win the league in 2019-20.

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Currently, the Reds have 42 points, meaning they are on track for a mid-80s points total but with more improvement still to do as they continue to evolve. The signs, certainly, are very good, and the reality is clear: Liverpool is in a title race. But the most exciting thing is that there is a lot more to come.

The Bad

This was another game where Ryan Gravenberch showed flashes but didn’t quite fully ignite. Suggesting he was ‘bad’ would be a little much and the positive way of thinking about it is that there is much more to come from him.

Gravenberch has all the quality required to become a huge part of the Liverpool midfield but Klopp will need to remain patient. Getting up to speed in the Premier League is not always easy and it can take time. The only ‘bad’ thing is that the consistency won’t arrive sooner because it will be a major asset.

It is not as if the players who came on were any better, either. Curtis Jones struggled to get into it and Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t pull up any trees. Liverpool is still working out what its best trio looks like, and, of course, is still currently without Alexis Mac Allister.

The Ugly

Burnley’s home record reads as follows: a 5-0 win over Sheffield United, and a loss against eight (or now nine) other teams. Liverpool simply had to get the win, but left it late to confirm that was going to happen.

Some of the wastefulness was frustrating and Liverpool should have made more of a few situations, but Klopp was unhappy with the disallowed goals as well. With Harvey Elliott’s, it was offside and he can have few complaints. With the Cody Gakpo one, there is probably more reason for discontent, given even Charlie Taylor didn’t appear to think he had been fouled.

Liverpool will need to be more clinical in the future weeks but the main thing was that the Reds got the job done. Burnley’s attacking was never quite convincing but they were given far more hope than they should have been afforded