Liverpool made it two wins out of two in the Premier League after easing to a 2-0 victory over Burnley in front of the first capacity crowd at Anfield for 18 months.
Diogo Jota, who scored the first goal in Liverpool’s 3-0 victory at Norwich last weekend, glanced in a header off a cross by left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas in the 18th minute in front of a delighted Kop.
Striker Sadio Mane sealed all three points with a first-time finish from a Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deft pass with just over 20 minutes to go.
Before the game, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson laid a wreath at the centre circle before kick-off in memory of Andrew Devine, who recently became the 97th person to die as a consequence of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. There was a mosaic on The Kop displaying the numbers “97" as well as a minute's silence.
Henderson was pleased to win in front of a full Anfield once again. Asked if it was the performance they wanted, he told BT Sport: “It was the result [we wanted].
“The performance was good at times, there are still places where we can improve of course. Overall, we are delighted, it was great to have the fans back, they gave us a lift and we got the result and that is the most important thing.
“It keeps you going at times, the emotional side of it. Football was totally different last season without a crowd and now we have got the fans back in it is a different ball game and hopefully we can keep our fortress, if you like.”
Tsimikas is set to lose his place in the team, with Andrew Robertson returning to fitness after an ankle injury. The Greek defender’s parting gift was an assist from a pinpoint delivery into the penalty box, where Jota got in front of Burnley centre-back Ben Mee and guided a header low past goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Mohamed Salah, needing two goals to reach 100 in the Premier League after barely four seasons, had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside midway through the first half, after which Mane volleyed over from another pass from Alexander-Arnold.
Salah had a shot cleared from near the line by Dwight McNeil and Mane had a low effort saved by the feet of Pope, who could do little about the Senegal forward’s thumping shot to make it 2-0.
It came at the end of a sweeping move from Liverpool, featuring a long ball forward by Virgil van Dijk, who again played the full game following his comeback from injury, and some neat touches by young midfielder Harvey Elliott, who also completed 90 minutes.
Burnley, meanwhile, have lost five in a row in the Premier League for the first time ever — either side of the summer break — last doing so in any division in the 2008-09 Championship campaign.
