Liverpool secures Boxing Day triumph, claims top spot in Premier League
- Darwin Nunez and Jota secured a 2-0 win over Burnley.
- Klopp celebrated perfect Boxing Day record.
- VAR denied goals from Elliott and Gakpo.
Liverpool defeated struggling Burnley 2-0 on Boxing Day to secure first place in the Premier League.
Under manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool has won all six of their Premier League games on Boxing Day.
Diogo Jota, a replacement, scored in the ninetieth minute to earn the victory and three points. Six minutes in, Darwin Nunez scored his first Premier League goal in nearly two months, giving his team the ideal start.
But following VAR tests, the goals by Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo were disqualified.
“I love Diogo Jota but he missed chances in the past as well. He had some fortune like that. It’s the nature of the thing that we always ask for, always the players who are not involved and then all of a sudden they think they can change the world. Diogo is an incredibly important player for us. Having him changed the whole dynamic, that’s true, but before in his life he missed some chances,” Klopp said after the match.
“The goal he scored today is the goal of a boy full of conviction. Good technique, obviously, but full of conviction because he had no chance to create any kind of doubt in the last few weeks because he was in rehab. That’s why the goal for Darwin was as important. Cody scored again, Harvey scored an incredible goal, they just took them away and it’s really, really tough, but how I said, we won the game and it’s all fine.”
Liverpool moved up to the lead with 42 points from 19 games, surpassing Arsenal. Prior to their London derby against West Ham United on Thursday, Arsenal leads 40.
“So, 42 points, that’s really pleasing, to be honest. That’s really cool because the first part of the season [is] done and it was absolutely alright what we did. Not perfect but it was alright. And if I’m right, we cannot be more than a point away from the top of the table, if Arsenal win. That’s obviously in punching distance, let me say it like that,” Klopp said.