Soccer-Burnley's Barnes savours the 'special one' against Liverpool

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Burnley striker Ashley Barnes said he had expected to net his 100th senior goal earlier in his career but the 31-year-old was delighted the special moment came in Thursday's 1-0 victory over Premier League champions Liverpool.

Barnes scored from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute after being brought down by goalkeeper Alisson Becker as Burnley ended Liverpool's 68-game unbeaten home record in the English top-flight.

"It's a special one. To get my 100th goal at a place like this is special," Barnes told Burnley's website.

"It should have been here a long time ago. I'm disappointed not to have got it sooner but as a striker you've always got to be confident in front of goal ... luckily it's paid off tonight. I'm always going to back myself to score.

"Before I picked up the ball I knew where I was going to put it. It went exactly where I wanted it. It's a big achievement to get to 100 goals but more importantly we came here, did the job and got the three points."

Victory lifted Sean Dyche's side to 16th in the table with 19 points, seven above the relegation zone.

"We knew it was going to be a massive win if we could get it and luckily enough we did," Barnes added.

"We know we're better than where we are in the league. A couple of the teams around us have won lately so we knew it was vital for us to get something.

"It's the team performance that stood out and everyone deserves credit. I believe in every one of my team mates. You know they're right behind you and the reaction I had in the changing room when I walked back in was something special." (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )