Liverpool’s 8/10 creative monster had an even better first half than Florian Wirtz vs Burnley
Lewis Steele showered Milos Kerkez with praise for his first-half performance against Burnley on Saturday.
The Hungarian international has enjoyed a marked upturn in form in recent weeks, with a defensively superb outing against Arsenal at the Emirates a landmark display in his Liverpool career.
Exactly the kind of relaxed display John Arne Riise had been calling for.
Milos Kerkez impresses in first half vs Burnley
Steele tweeted in praise of the former Bournemouth man, crediting the left-back with a ‘brilliant’ start to the Reds’ hosting of Scott Parker’s men at Anfield.
Maybe he should've done better with that early chance but Milos Kerkez is really settling into this #LFC team. Top-class display at the Emirates (second half especially) 10 days ago, now brilliant so far here. All the (fit) new boys have taken massive strides so far in 2026.
— Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) January 17, 2026
With the first 45 done and dusted (at the time of writing), Kerkez created four chances and supplied two defensive contributions.
| Milos Kerkez stats vs Burnley |
| 45 minutes |
| 32/36 passes completed (89%) |
| 5 chances created |
| 2 defensive contributions |
| 3 recoveries |
| 3/5 ground duels won |
| 1/1 successful dribbles |
* Milos Kerkez’s first-half stats vs Burnley in the Premier League (Fotmob)
Fotmob awarded the 22-year-old a 7.9/10 rating for his trouble – the highest score on the pitch at the halfway mark (beating Florian Wirtz’s 7.8/10).
MORE FROM LIVERPOOL VS BURNLEY: Forget Wirtz: Liverpool’s relentless 33-touch star had game-defining moment to put Reds 1-0 up vs Burnley
What do the stats say about the Liverpool fullback’s recent displays?
After a difficult start to the 2025/26 campaign – exacerbated, no doubt, by the wider struggles Arne Slot’s men were experiencing – Milos Kerkez now appears to be finding his feet at L4.
Statistically speaking, the goalless stalemate with Arsenal in London wasn’t his strongest performance so far.
| Game | Fotmob score |
| Everton (2-1 win) | 7.7/10 |
| Wolves (2-1 win) | 7.7/10 |
| Crystal Palace (2-2 draw in Community Shield; lost on penalties) | 7.7/10 |
| Arsenal (0-0 draw) | 7.5/10 |
* Comparing Milos Kerkez’s highest-rated outings for Liverpool against his Arsenal display (Fotmob)
Being set to head out into the second-half with a 7.9/10 rating against Burnley, however, this could very well end up being his best performance in the famous red shirt.
With Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz likewise having settled in wonderfully, it hasn’t come a moment too soon with Liverpool fans desperate for reasons to be optimistic.
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