Diogo Jota returned to action on Tuesday after a month on the sidelines and scored the late goal in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Burnley, allowing the Reds to temporarily reclaim the top spot at the top of the English Football League.
The Portuguese striker had not played since November 25, but on Tuesday Jurgen Klopp decided to bring him into the game for the final six minutes and responded in full, scoring 2-0 against Burnley in the 90th minute.
Earlier, former Benfica player Darwin Nunez made it 1-0 in the sixth minute through Gakpo against the penultimate team in the Premier League table, who never seriously threatened the visitors.
With this success, Liverpool now have 42 points, two more than Arsenal, who will still be playing in this 19th round, and three more than Aston Villa, who will also be playing in Boxing Day.
Liverpool’s success at Turf Moor couldn’t have come at a better time, coming after two draws with Manchester United (0-0) and Arsenal (1-1).
One who has also maintained his fighting spirit is Uruguayan Darwin Nunez, who has not scored in 12 games, a completely unexpected “quick” result given his “credentials”.
The result could have been bigger, but Harvey Elliott’s goal in the 57th minute was disallowed due to Mohamed Salah being offside.
This time the Egyptian was left empty and the best he managed was to hit the crossbar in the 34th minute in a one-sided game as Burnley failed to score a single shot.