Kuyt limps off as Benitez runs out of strikers

LIVERPOOL’S desperation to secure Champions League qualification accounted for Burnley’s Premier League status at Turf Moor, but the victory might have come at a cost as Rafael Benitez faces the prospect of going into Thursday’s do-or-die Europa League clash with Atletico Madrid without a recognised striker after Dirk Kuyt limped off with a calf problem.

The Holland international had to be substituted moments into the second half and is rated extremely doubtful for Atletico’s visit to Anfield, when Liverpool will look to overcome a 1-0 deficit against the Spaniards and keep alive their hopes of securing some silverware this season.

It seems there is every chance Kuyt will be joining Fernando Torres and David Ngog on the sidelines, leaving Benitez desperately short of options in attack as he looks to reach the final and also catch Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in the on-going race to finish fourth in the Premier League.

Kuyt will undergo intensive treatment in desperate bid to be fit but Benitez, who saw his team ease to a 4-0 win thanks to a Steven Gerrard brace and a goal a-piece from Maxi Rodriguez and Ryan Babel in the second half, said: “We will have to wait and see with him. They (the medical staff) are working with him now. It’s a problem in his calf but we will have to wait and see what happens.”

Benitez remains convinced Liverpool can secure Champions League qualification and finish the season on a high note in the wake of this comfortable win, a result which condemned Brian Laws’ side to relegation from the top flight.

Benitez added: “It was a good performance. The team worked hard because Burnley made things tough for us in the first half.

“Burnley are fighting and were strong, but we had more time and space in the second half and it made a big difference.

“It’s always good for the team when Stevie scores. He has quality and power and his performance was good for him and the team.

“It’s important when you don’t have Torres and his goals that Stevie scores them. It’s good for us and hopefully it will be the same on Thursday.’’

Defeat confirmed Burnley’s relegation but the writing has been on the wall for far too long at the unfashionable club, even before Owen Coyle departed and Brian Laws succeeded him.

They have won just two league games since Halloween but at least the recurring nightmare is now over and preparations can begin for a return to the Championship.

For at least 45 minutes there seemed little to choose between the two sides, but once Liverpool shifted through a couple of gears the difference was startling.

What will concern Burnley the most is the fact that even a mediocre Liverpool side without the threat of Torres and several others were in a different league to them.

Laws remains eternally optimistic, however and he said: “If we are not good enough, we are not good enough. We haven’t done well enough against those teams around us at the bottom end. That’s why we are where we are. That’s a mini league and we haven’t done well enough in it.

“It’s a horrible feeling. But we should be proud of ourselves because we’ve had a taste of what it’s like and we will bounce back next season.’’

MATCH RATING: **: Started poorly and struggled to improve. Granted, Burnley did their best to frustrate and stifle Liverpool whenever possible in the hope of hitting them on the break but there was little they could do to contain the class of Steven Gerrard in the end.

REFEREE: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) 8: Did well considering what was at stake for both sides. Got a couple of penalty shouts correct and showed common sense whenever possible.