An own-goal by Djimi Traore handed Championship side Burnley a deserved 1-0 victory over Premiership giants Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup in Burnley on Tuesday.
Liverpool fielded an under-strength side and paid the penalty, ending the match with 10 men after Antonio Nunez was sent off shortly before the final whistle for lashing out at Tony Grant.
The defeat leaves Liverpool — who were the side beaten by Burnley when they won the FA Cup in 1914 — with just the Champions League and League Cup to play for the rest of the season.
Liverpool had the better of the exchanges as the first half wore on, with Darren Potter (twice) and John Welsh forcing Brian Jensen into saves.
Burnley had started the brighter but only forced the under-pressure Polish goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek into a couple of saves in the fourth minute from Richard Chaplow and Grant.
Liverpool started the second half as they had finished the first period, as the seldom-used Igor Biscan fired in a shot from long range that was safely gathered by Jensen, who had been forced to change his shirt in the first half because it clashed with the visitors’ strip.
However, against the run of play Burnley took the lead in the 51st minute as Traore scored a bizarre own-goal, swivelling almost full circle and under no pressure to prod it into his own net from Chaplow’s low cross.
The hosts took heart from that and four minutes later, Jean-Louis Valois fired in a shot from 35m that Dudek managed to catch.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez decided to throw caution to the wind and threw on Czech international striker Milan Baros for the unfortunate Traore with 25 minutes remaining.
Chaplow had a golden opportunity to ensure Burnley made the next round in the 72nd minute but with a free shot at goal from just 15 yards out, he fired it wide.
Liverpool, though, were proving incapable of even testing Jensen as first Baros and then Nunez wasted chances while time started running out for the Premiership side.
Nunez did get one on target nine minutes from time, but Jensen again proved equal to the task.
Nunez night and Liverpool’s got even worse when the Spaniard was given a straight red card for lashing out at Grant three minutes from time to round off an eminently forgettable match for the Premiership giants. — Sapa-AFP