Nat Phillips flourishes at both ends in Liverpool’s win at Burnley

It is appropriate that in this strangest of seasons Liverpool are on the verge of Champions League qualification courtesy of the unlikeliest of leaders. After Alisson’s heroics at West Bromwich Albion came Nat Phillips’ commanding night at Burnley; and now only Roy Hodgson, taking charge of Crystal Palace for the final time, stands between them and a fifth successive season among the European elite.

Phillips epitomised Liverpool’s performance at Turf Moor along with the character that has hauled Jürgen Klopp’s team into the top four with one game to play. There was a nervous start, a clinical goal, the defender’s first in a Liverpool shirt, and a resolute display to preserve a valuable clean sheet.

The 24-year-old may not have been near the Liverpool first team but for the injuries that holed their defence of the Premier League title. Here he steered the late rescue act that has taken Liverpool into the top four at the expense of Leicester on goal difference. One more win under a manager accustomed to his seasons doing down to the wire, and in front of 10,000 Liverpool fans at Anfield on Sunday, and Liverpool will find redemption in their exhausting campaign.

Roberto Firmino and the substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sandwiched Phillips’ header with fine strikes. The contest was closer than the scoreline might suggest, although the the latter did reflect the contrasting quality in the final third between the two teams. Burnley, without a home win since January and with a goalkeeper, Will Norris, making his Premier League debut for the club, served up an uncomfortable night for the visitors. Chris Wood unsettled an uncertain Liverpool defence from the start but the visitors, Phillips and Rhys Williams chief among them, recovered to produce a mature and incisive display. Liverpool created enough clear-cut chances to have established a commanding lead by the break.

Burnley were sliced open from Liverpool’s first attack when a fine ball from the influential Andy Robertson released Mohamed Salah. An excellent covering tackle by Ben Mee prevented the Egypt international capitalising. Mee’s central defensive partner, James Tarkowski, produced a similar challenge to deny Sadio Mané when Salah found the striker unmarked inside the area.

Firmino turned a decent chance wide from Mané’s back-heel, Thiago Alcântara dragged a shot wide of the far post following a neat exchange with Salah and seconds later, after Robertson launched a long ball over the Burnley defence, Liverpool’s leading goalscorer blazed over with only Norris to beat. When Phillips sent a half-volley high over from Williams’ knock-down, the sense that Liverpool might be made to pay once again for their profligacy was inescapable – but ultimately badly misplaced.

Robertson combined with Mané down the left and, with Johann Gudmundsson failing to track the full-back’s run, he pulled an inviting cross back from the by-line for Firmino to side-foot home from 12 yards. Norris should have done better with a shot that was close to his left leg and Turf Moor, for once, fell silent with the exception of a celebrating Klopp.

Burnley had engineered, and missed, several opportunities of their own prior to Firmino’s breakthrough. Matthew Lowton was unfortunate with a goal-bound drive that struck Williams’ head and deflected over while Alisson saved bravely at the feet of Wood following a goalmouth scramble and from Dwight McNeil’s powerful drive. Liverpool’s goalscoring goalkeeper should have been given no chance when Wood latched on to Lowton’s ball into the area only to slice wide on the half-volley from close range.

Liverpool were far more polished in attack, patient too, and doubled their lead early in the second half through Phillips’ first goal for the club. The centre-half had grown into his duel with Wood and also shone at the opposite end of the pitch when Mané beat Lowton to the byline and lofted an inch-perfect cross into the area. Phillips, somehow escaping the attentions of the Burnley defence, rose to plant an unstoppable header beyond the exposed Norris.

Phillips excelled again to head off the line from Mee when the Burnley captain met McNeil’s corner with a towering back-post header. Burnley continued to battle but in the final minute Oxlade-Chamberlain, receiving Robertson’s pass into the area, bamboozled Charlie Taylor with fine footwork before driving inside Norris’ near post.