Liverpool picked up a much-needed win in the Premier League this afternoon by seeing off Burnley 1-0 in a scrappy affair at Turf Moor.

The Clarets had the better of the first half, and they came close to making the breakthrough inside the opening 15 minutes when Danny Ings struck the post with his effort.

However, Raheem Sterling made the home side pay for their profligacy just after the hour when he latched on to Phillipe Coutinho's through-ball and duly converted to score the only goal of the contest.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look back at who impressed during the 90 minutes of action in Lancashire.

BURNLEY

Goal

Tom Heaton: By no means his busiest afternoon of Premier League football, with just three shots on target to contend with. Will perhaps feel he could have done better to have stayed on his feet when Sterling rounded him for the game's only goal. (6/10)

Defence

Kieran Trippier: Produced a couple of fine crosses, the best of which led to Keane heading into the side-netting in the second half. Solid all-round performance from the full-back. (7/10)

Michael Keane: A promising future ahead for the Manchester United academy product. Liverpool were unable to create too many chances, but he headed away his fair share of crosses and came close to scoring at the other end. (7/10)

Jason Shackell: Tried his best to deny Sterling's shot into an empty net when sliding in on the line, yet it was not to be. Will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet with just that solo goal to separate the teams. (7/10)

Ben Mee: Not a great performance from the full-back, who did not make a great deal of impact. Was replaced late on as Dyche rolled the dice for the final time by bringing on another forward. (6/10)

Midfield

George Boyd: Looked brilliant in the first half as he seemingly latched on to every loose ball around the area. Had a couple of shots on goal but each were wayward in the end. (7/10)

Dean Marney: Likewise, Burnley were made to look like Premier League heavyweights by their opponents in the first half, with Marney one of those profiting. Failed to find the target with his strike on the brink of half time following some more sloppy Liverpool play. (7/10)

Scott Arfield: Given what looked to be a free role in midfield, and while he saw plenty of the ball, he did not do a great deal with it in fairness. (6/10)

Attack

Danny Ings: He was awarded the sponsors' Man of the Match accolade due to his tireless running, although he did not test either Jones or Mignolet on a single occasion. That said, he was hugely unlucky with his strike which came back off the post inside the opening 15 minutes. (7/10)

Ashley Barnes: He was praised by manager Sean Dyche this week following some impressive performances in recent weeks, although he could not find a way through for his side this afternoon despite the number of half-chances created in the opening 45 minutes. (6/10)

Substitutes

Sam Vokes: Perhaps the biggest positive for home supporters to take away from this afternoon's game was the reappearance of Welshman Sam Vokes, who has missed the last nine months with knee ligament damage. Did not make an impact today, but he will play a big part between now and the end of the season. (5/10)

Ross Wallace: Given eight minutes to make an impression, although in truth Burnley did not do a great deal to sustain any sort of pressure on the visitors in that time. (5/10)

Lukas Jutkiewicz: Won a header with his first piece of action which caught Skrtel out a little, but being brought on with 50 seconds remaining is not great for a striker looking to find his feet in the Premier League. (6/10)

LIVERPOOL

Goal

Brad Jones: The back-up goalkeeper lasted less than 16 minutes before having to be replaced after initially picking up a thigh injury in the warm-up. Beaten by Ings's strike just before that, but the post came to his rescue. (5/10)

Defence

Kolo Toure: Mixed afternoon for the defender, who was substituted at the break in place of Can. Liverpool struggled in the first half, and some sort of change simply had to be made by Rodgers. (6/10)

Martin Skrtel: He was the hero against Arsenal last weekend with a goal in the seventh minute of added-on time, and while there were no goal-scoring heroics this afternoon, he still managed to keep a clean sheet. (7/10)

Mamadou Sakho: A good showing from the Frenchman who helped steady Liverpool in the second half in this new-look formation. Did particularly well when denying Boyd, who was charging into the box with the ball at his feet but unable to get a shot away. (7/10)

Midfield

Jordan Henderson: Fielded as a right-sided wing-back this afternoon, and despite showing great stamina he did not really influence the game in the same manner as he did countless times last season. (6/10)

Steven Gerrard: Likewise, Gerrard is failing to influence games in the same way as he has done in the past, but that said he played a sublime first-time pass into the path of Lallana for the Reds' only chance of the opening hour. (7/10)

Lucas Leiva: Six out of eight tackles completed and 10 ball recoveries in midfield; not a bad showing from the Brazilian who is tasked with breaking up opposition play. Received the game's only yellow card for cynical challenge on Arfield which highlights what he is all about. (7/10)

Lazar Markovic: Not really suited to a wing-back role, although he did try to lead the odd Liverpool counter from deep in the first half in particular. Other players seem better suited to play in the position. (6/10)

Attack

Philippe Coutinho: While the visitors may have been overrun on more than one occasion, Coutinho did manage to latch on to one loose ball to produce the assist for Sterling's goal. That piece of vision - whether it was truly intended or not - proved the difference in the end. (8/10)

Raheem Sterling: He has now scored three goals in the same number of games since being moved into a more attacking position, being directly involved in over 36% of his side's goals this term. Struggled in the opening quarter of the season, but returned to his best form in recent weeks. (8/10)

Adam Lallana: Certainly looked better over the past few matches, but other than a lot of running this afternoon he did not actually create a great deal. Not at the same level as he was at Southampton quite yet, but surely there is more to come. (6/10)

Substitutes

Emre Can: Introduced at the break in place of Toure and probably did just about enough to nail down a starting spot in Liverpool's next match against Swansea City on Monday night. Solid performance from the summer signing. (7/10)

Simon Mignolet: Having been dropped "indefinitely" by his manager a few weeks ago, this was an early chance for the Belgian to prove Rodgers wrong. Produced a howler when allowing the ball to run out of play following a simply back-pass, but that aside he handled crosses fairly well overall. Did not have a single save to make, though. (6/10)

Rickie Lambert: Brought on with than 10 minutes remaining but could not make the desired impact during his time on the field. Did find the net following a fine pass from Gerrard, although he was a yard or so offside. (6/10)