SOMETIMES it’s not how much of the ball you have, it’s what you do with it.

If the myth of possession football winning you games - as Sean Dyche called it on Saturday - was starting to be debunked, then surely it was buried once and for all at Turf Moor.

Liverpool saw over 80 per cent of the ball through the 90 minutes, but while they looked clueless as to how to break Burnley’s stunning rearguard down, the Clarets were ruthless when they got on the ball.

In the early stages they hassled and harried the Reds into submission of the ball in key areas, and twice made them pay. After that they were content for Jurgen Klopp’s men to control possession, happy in the knowledge that they simply couldn’t hurt them, despite the glut of star names and mega-money signings on the pitch.

This was a triumph for the ability of playing football without the football. Burnley were organised, resilient and resourceful. Liverpool, so stylish in the win over Arsenal last week, had no answers.

The party started as early as the second minute. Burnley forced a turnover of possession high up the pitch and Sam Vokes lashed home his first Premier League goal.

Before the break Andre Gray had followed his strike partner in opening his top flight account, with an assist from impressive debutant Steven Defour.

It was a first league win over Liverpool for Burnley in 42 years, and it was one that will lift the spirits of everyone at Turf Moor.

Having had to wait until November for that first win two years ago, the Clarets were left frustrated a week ago when a winnable opening fixture with Swansea ended in defeat.

But any fears about another slow start leaving them ground to make up can now be forgotten.

When Vokes sent a rocket of a drive beyond Simon Mignolet Turf Moor erupted, and it was never silenced after that.

Liverpool were trying to play out from the back, but Nathaniel Clyne received a poor ball and then played one of his own, his pass inside only finding Gray, who turned quickly and sent a ball inside to Vokes. The Wales striker turned back on to his right foot before smashing a fierce shot into the back of the net.

As the visitors looked to get back in the game Philippe Coutinho twice curled shots over from almost the same spot on the pitch, around 25 yards from goal.

They were seeing plenty of the ball but struggling to break the Clarets down, with Adam Lallana’s scuffed shot from inside the area an easy save for Tom Heaton.

While they were easily weathering Liverpool’s attacks, when Burnley got the chance to go forward they made no mistake.

Defour won the ball in midfield and burst over the halfway line, proving stronger in the challenge than Klavan on his way, before playing Gray in on the right. Last season’s top scorer cut inside before finding the bottom corner with a smart left-footed finish.

Coutinho continued to try his luck from distance, without ever looking like finding the back of the net, while Sturridge was also off-target, dragging a shot wide early in the second half and then lashing a left-footed drive off target.

When Heaton was called into action he was more than equal to it. He moved quickly to his left to claw Roberto Firmino’s drive from distance around the post, and then tipped substitute Mark Grujic’s dipping half-volley over the bar.

But the visitors had run out of ideas long before the final whistle, and in the end it was game the Clarets saw out comfortably.