DEPTH AT THE DEATH
It was a rush of blood by Burnley[1]‘s substitute Hannibal and an exquisite penalty from Mo Salah that won Liverpool[2] this game at the death but the real driving factor was what Reds manager Arne Slot[3] was able to bring from the bench as his team chased this game.
Needing impetus, ideas and energy late on, Liverpool benefited hugely from what Jeromie Frimpong, Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa brought them.
The three players were not on the field long at all. Ngumoha and Frimpong, for example, didn’t arrive until the 87th minute.
But both were visible and influential, posing Burnley’s tired defenders questions they ultimately couldn’t answer. None of this is a co-incidence, of course. It’s called squad building.
Liverpool have now scored late winners in three of their four Premier League[4] games – goals coming in the 88th, 100th and now 95th minutes – and without them Slot and his players would be sitting mid-table with questions to answer rather than sitting at the top of the Premier League.
‘We were starting to expect a draw but with the subs we had we just wanted to try and get all the attacking players on,’ said Slot. ‘In that time we won the penalty and created another good chance. Maybe we were just lucky…’
Federico Chiesa made a difference coming off the bench for Liverpool against Burnley
FOUR INTO THREE
Liverpool were not at their best here but with a little more calm and luck, they still would have won without the need for a penalty. It’s now clear how they will line up once Alexander Isak is fit and ready.
Hugo Ekitike played up front here but his best work came when he drifted to the left and started to cut inside. On one occasion, he did that brilliantly in the first half and his poke across goal almost found the corner. It looks like this will be his position once Isak slots in, with Cody Gakpo the player to step down.
It will be a formidable attacking line-up but at some stage Salah will have to find his own real form. Last year’s player of the year scored a great goal on day one against Bournemouth and crashed the penalty in beautifully here but that apart he has been off his game.
At times against Burnley he was really very poor. Slot said afterwards that he does occasionally think about taking Salah off but can’t bring himself to actually do it! ‘Taking Mo off when we need a goal won’t happen very often’ he said. ‘But, yes, you do think about all the subs you could possibly make’.
Isak, meanwhile, will make his debut on Wednesday in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid or in next Saturday’s Merseyside derby.
‘We got him from Newcastle in a state where his pre-season basically starts now,’ explained Slot. ‘He will be able to play 45 minutes on Wednesday or next Saturday, but not both.’
Mo Salah scored the winner but had another poor game and needs to find form quickly
BRADLEY OR FRIMPONG?
Such have been his problems with injuries, it has been easy to forget a little about Conor Bradley. The flying Frimpong was the player bought to nominally replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and he got the nod on day one against Bournemouth.
But – with Frimpong getting injured that night and only returning to the bench himself here – it was Bradley who was sent on as Slot changed things at half-time.
The young Irishman is not as direct as Frimpong and does not have Alexander-Arnold’s passing range – who does? – but he is technically fabulous, has a natural understanding of when to inject urgency into a movement and gives Liverpool balance simply by occupying the position naturally.
Liverpool were much better once Bradley came on at Turf Moor. Sadly others around him were not quite always able to find the same wavelength.
Conor Bradley (left) and Jeremie Frimpong (right) are competing for the right-back slot
OLIVER IN CONTROL
The home crowd spent much of the game getting on the referee’s back, seemingly convinced that Michel Oliver had it in for them. It was hard to see the evidence.
The official got the penalty spot on at the death and was right to caution Lesley Ugochukwu when he clattered through Alexis MacAllister much earlier on. Yes, he got the ball but he also took far too much of the man with his studs raised.
The second yellow – and sending off – that followed with six minutes left was impossible to argue with but Oliver actually made his best call in the 22nd minute. Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch – who quietly instigates much of his team’s best football – had combined beautifully down the left to put Milos Kerkez to the byline only for the Liverpool left-back to throw himself to the ground.
Oliver booked him immediately and was right to. It was an utterly stupid act from the Liverpool player. ‘I have told him it wasn’t smart,’ said Slot.
‘But he said he felt a contact. It wasn’t a foul, though. I have to say it’s funny that the two times in my time here that one of my players has done that, they have been booked both times. But diving happens a lot in football.’
Michael Oliver had an assured game and the referee got all the big calls correct
WALKER A DIFFERENT PLAYER
The reason Manchester City were so happy to let Kyle Walker go was because he had lost a yard of that devastating pace that defined him. It clearly isn’t coming back. Here he did look vulnerable in the occasional one-on-situation.
In the second half, for example, Gakpo stood him up and went by him as though he wasn’t there. Walker is a clever and experienced footballer, though, and at times his know-how and football intelligence shone through.
At 35, he may never play for England again but as long as he continues to adapt his game and doesn’t allow himself to be placed in positions where his new-found limitations are exposed, he could be vital to Burnley’s chances of survival.
Scott Parker’s team may also need a little more luck. That’s two late penalties that have denied them, here and in their last game at Manchester United. ‘It’s heartbreaking,’ said Parker.
‘This could have been a really powerful moment but it’s happened two weeks in a row. It’s probably a penalty but we are going to have to teach players to jump and block with their arms behind their backs. It will be a completely new technique, never seen before in football.’
As Parker sat and talked in the Turf Moor press room, it was almost possible to reach out and touch the sarcasm.