Liverpool were booed off the pitch and it was deserved as a regretful Arne Slot, two baying camera-men up in his grill, sighed and looked like he wanted the Anfield turf to swallow him up.
After 32 shots, a man-of-the-match goalkeeping display by Martin Dubravka and a first-half Reds performance that was better than most of late, the Premier League champions still ended up with just one point to show for it.
The glass-half-full take is that this is now 12 unbeaten but the glass-half-empty argument is that, well, this recent run has been uninspiring, insipid and full of vulnerability as, yet again, they tossed away a commanding position.
At least the Reds stayed committed to Dry January, this a fourth straight draw since the turn of the year. The 0-0 at Arsenal was pleasing but points dropped against Leeds, Fulham and Burnley were borderline embarrassing, especially taken as a trio.
Marcus Edwards was Burnley’s hero as they celebrated an unlikely result and boss Scott Parker, who was serenaded by the away end, deserves a mountain of credit. But he should not have been given the chance to do so.
Slot’s take was that his team created more than enough to win easily while Burnley only had two chances of note and, while true, it is now a well-trodden excuse and some fans have started to lose trust.
Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by newly-promoted Burnley on Saturday afternoon at Anfield
As he strolled onto the pitch at the final whistle, Arne Slot looked like he wanted the Anfield turf to swallow him up
Whether that is fair, it is astonishing how quickly he has turned from hero to zero in the eyes of some.
Just six months ago, when Slot led the Reds to the Premier League title in what was one of the finest debut managerial campaigns we have ever seen. He could walk into any pub in the city and get a free tipple (save for some near Everton’s stadium).
Now, if performances do not improve in the coming months, he runs the risk of being turned away at the doors.
This match, the most disappointing result yet of a dismal star to the year, was Slot’s new-look Liverpool in a microcosm.
For 45 minutes in the first half, they were breath-taking. A balletic Florian Wirtz was gliding around picking holes in Burnley’s stubborn defence, Hugo Ekitike was doing his best impression of Brazilian Ronaldo and they were creating chances on demand.
When Wirtz put them ahead with a clever, disguised finish, one thought they would run away and win comfortably.
But then after the break came the dark side to this Jekyll and Hyde side. As if to say ‘come on Burnley, you have barely had a sniff, come and have a shot or two’, the Reds retreated, invited pressure from Scott Parker’s men, a relegation cert for most, and it was costly.
After a blunder from Ibrahima Konate saw him nearly shank an attempted clearance into his own goal in what ended up being a vital defensive intervention, the away team suddenly smelt blood.
In the absence of Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to take a penalty in the first half and struck the crossbar
Florian Wirtz, who looks to be finding his feet, scored the opener before the interval
But Burnley’s standout man Marcus Edwards sealed the visitors a point in the second half
With their next attack, they were level, with former Tottenham man Marcus Edwards firing hard and low past Alisson. Again, how and why did Burnley have so much space?
Liverpool then started to queue up and take it in turns to miss shots as they tried to re-establish the lead but Burnley stood tall. Many away players deserve credit but none more so than defender Axel Tuanzebe.
The well-travelled 28-year-old, once of Manchester United, was whisked off as soon as the full-time whistle sounded to witness the birth of his child. ‘Axel’s wife has gone into labour,’ Parker later explained.
‘It was touch and go whether he would play today as it was going on for about 16 hours but we had a car outside with the engine running and he’s with her now!’
For most of the second half as Liverpool toiled, thoughts turned to Casablanca. Not the 1942 Humphrey Bogart classic – but the location of a certain Mohamed Salah, who was playing a game probably wanted as much as a toothache would be: a third-place AFCON play-off.
What would he have thought as Dominik Szoboszlai, stand-in penalty taker, rattled the bar with a first-half spot-kick? And then the Egyptian must have pondered how missed he is as his club team-mates had all the ball but lacked the cutting edge.
He will be back in the coming days and how they need him after another day of rueing missed opportunities.
On the booing, Slot said: ‘If you, as Liverpool, are not disappointed by having a draw at home to Burnley then something is completely wrong. I completely understand the frustration. I and the players definitely have the same frustrations as the fans.’
But better performances count for nothing if not backed up with wins to go with it. Liverpool are now 17 points worse off than this time last season and would need to win every single game between now and the end of the campaign to better last term’s end tally.
That is a damning indictment of their underwhelming season and this was another regretful episode for Slot and Co.
LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Alisson 5.5; Frimpong 6.5, Konate 6, Van Dijk 6, Kerkez 7.5 (Robertson 78); Gravenberch 6 (Mac Allister 78), Jones 5 (Chiesa 87); Wirtz 8, Szoboszlai 5.5 Gakpo 6 (Ngumoha 78); Ekitike 7.
Subs not used: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Nyoni, Ramsay.
Booked: Kerkez.
Scorers: Wirtz 42.
Manager: Arne Slot 5.
BURNLEY (3-4-2-1): DUBRAVKA 8; Tuanzebe 7, Esteve 7, Humphreys 7; Walker 7, Uguchukwu 6 (Laurent 84), Florentino 7.5 (Tchaouna 90), Pires 6; Edwards 7.5 (Mejbri 90), Anthony 7.5; Broja 6 (Foster 72, 6).
Subs not used: Weiss, Barnes, Bruun Larsen, Ekdal, Hartman.
Booked: Barnes, Humphreys.
Scorers: Edwards 65.
Manager: Scott Parker 7.
Referee: Andy Madley 5.
Attendance: not provided.
