Burnley tasted defeat for the 12th time out 14 games on the road this season following Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.

The impressive Ashley Barnes hit Burnley’s first goal at Anfield since Peter Noble struck in 1975.

It was the first time in 2017 that Jurgen Klopp’s men had beaten one of the so-called lesser lights in the Premier League, if this was a rarity, defeat on the road was a familiar feeling for Sean Dyche.

Burnley sit in 12th position in the table and are now seven points above the relegation zone, whilst Liverpool consolidate their position in fourth spot.

Here are five thoughts from Shoot!‘s Burnley blogger Jordan Neary, who was at Anfield for the game…

Future is bright for Keane

Many great centre-halves have strutted their stuff on the hallowed Anfield pitch.

It will be a matter of time before Michael Keane is a regular at a top four club. The former Manchester United man coped admirably with what was thrown at him by a busy Liverpool side, along with his partner in the middle of defence, Ben Mee, they little wrong and were unlucky to be on the losing team.

The 23-year-old is getting better with every game and when the top sides in the Premier League do come calling, the Clarets will command a huge fee.

Faultless full-backs

Forest Gump would probably get a game for the Clarets. Sean Dyche loves industry in his team, especially away from home where Burnley played six at the back for large parts, with George Boyd and Scott Arfield operating as auxiliary full-backs.

The Burnley manager got his tactics spot on in this respect, as the overlapping threat of Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner was negated, as the pair were not allowed to gallop beyond the Clarets’ full-backs.

The Burnley gaffer gets a lot of criticism for playing the pair, however, Burnley should have come away from Anfield with at least a point, and this was largely down these tactics.

Robbie Brady does not look fit enough yet to hold down a starting spot and with Johann Berg Gudmundsson out injured, Dyche used this tried and tested tactic with two players he trusts implicitly.

Battling Barton

The former Rangers man is mirroring his new haircut on the pitch, razor sharp.

Sean Dyche knows how to get the best out of him, and in the middle with Jeff Hendrick, Barton disrupted the flow the Liverpool midfield had as time and again the home side gave the ball away cheaply.

The Reds were below par, but Klopp’s men were made to look poor by a Burnley team who knew exactly what they were doing, down to a man. The fact that the hosts most creative force, Philippe Coutinho, was hooked by his manager speaks volumes for the job Burnley did on him.

The match winner, Emre Can, was particularly wasteful and the home fans let the German know their feelings, as the midfielder took his fair share of stick from the Anfield crowd, his winning goal masked a substandard performance as he was dominated by the Burnley midfield.

Barton, throughout against a three-man midfield was excellent, his positioning, reading of the game and distribution all on point.

When Steven Defour eventually comes back from injury, he will have a hard time getting a spot back in the middle of the park.

Gray’s goal threat

A real handful in the first-half for the Liverpool defence, perching himself on the shoulder of Ragnar Klavan and running in channels behind James Milner, the home sides rear guard didn’t know how to handle Burnley’s leading goalscorer in the early exchanges.

The near post run to distract the Liverpool defence for the opening goal served to show how much Gray was on Liverpool’s radar.

The raw pace and brute strength of the former Brentford man constantly had his opponents back peddling, and if the striker could hone in an erratic first touch at times and add a dose of composure to his game, he could turn into one of the most formidable front men in the division.

However, the striker has a tendency to drift out of the action and needs to work on how he can affect games more consistently at the top level.

Away Form

There is only so much solace you can take from gutsy performances away from home as the Clarets went down 2-1, yet again.

As they did in four of their previous five away defeats at Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal and Watford.

Burnley have now played a total of 52 matches and won only four away games in the Premier League, drawing eight and losing 40, so the problem is more deep-rooted than just this season.

Jurgen Klopp alluded to it in his post-match press conference, that if you don’t get a goal early against this Burnley side, they will run you all the way to the wire.

Burnley were not cautious at Anfield, they rarely are these days, Dyche sticks with 4-4-2 and with Sunderland up next, there will be no better place than the Stadium of Light for the Clarets to add to the two points from 42 available they have on their travels.