Arne Slot’s side maintain 100 per cent start with their fourth late winner in four games
Mohamed Salah slammed home a stoppage-time penalty as a below-par Liverpool carved out a 1-0 victory over 10-man Burnley at Turf Moor.
A stubborn Burnley rearguard looked set to hold out for a point against the Premier League champions on Sunday, even when Lesley Ugochukwu was sent off after picking up a second yellow card.
Yet Liverpool, who were without British record signing Alexander Isak as he was left out of Arne Slot’s squad, found a way to win it in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Jeremie Frimpong’s cross was blocked by Hannibal Mejbri’s outstretched arm, giving referee Michael Oliver little choice but to point to the spot.
Salah coolly fired home to win it, sending Liverpool back above Arsenal at the top of the standings on maximum points, while Burnley sit in 17th.
How the match unfolded
Jaidon Anthony, having scored in back-to-back games, caused Liverpool problems down the left flank, nearly scoring with a speculative effort that sailed just over in the seventh minute.
Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez struggled early on, having been booked for simulation in the 22nd minute. He was surprisingly withdrawn by Slot before half-time, with Andy Robertson brought on.
Robertson had an attempt shortly after his introduction, while the Reds also failed to capitalise on crosses flashed across the goalmouth by Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.
With Alexis Mac Allister swapped for Conor Bradley at half-time, Liverpool emerged from the interval looking sharper as they began to stretch Burnley, with Dominik Szoboszlai seeing his goal-bound strike palmed away by the outstretched gloves of Martin Dubravka.
Liverpool saw substitute Federico Chiesa come close, and their cause was helped when Ugochukwu received his second booking after sliding in on Wirtz.
The three points nevertheless had to be secured from the penalty spot, as Salah powerfully drilled in following Hannibal’s blunder.
Burnley breached at the death
It is now two games in a row, against two of the Premier League’s biggest teams, that Burnley have come desperately close to earning a point, only to concede an agonising stoppage-time penalty.
It happened against Manchester United at Old Trafford prior to the international break, and on Sunday it was a similar outcome.
However, in Liverpool – a side the Clarets had lost six consecutive home games to – they were facing a different beast altogether than that of Ruben Amorim’s team.
Having built a promotion-winning team on the back of a defence that conceded just 16 goals during the 2024/25 season, that steel was on show from Scott Parker’s team here.
Maxime Esteve – a key member of the Burnley’s promotion-winning side – was central to the home side’s valiant defensive efforts, as his smothering presence negated Liverpool’s attacking threat. The centre-back successfully contained both Salah and Ekitike for large swathes of the match.
Even after Ugochukwu was dismissed in the 84th minute, Burnley’s defensive display deserved a point, but Hannibal’s mispositioned arm was their ultimate undoing.
While this defeat means Parker’s side were unable to extend their unbeaten home record, they will be hoping they can get back on track in front of the Turf Moor faithful next weekend as they host Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest.
Frustrated Liverpool leave it late again
Two weeks after a spectacular 83rd-minute Szoboszlai free-kick gave the Reds a 1-0 win over title-rivals Arsenal, Liverpool were back in action, and back to leaving it late once more.
The Reds looked set to fail to score in the league for the first time in exactly a year, since they were beaten 1-0 at home by Forest.
Instead, they found a way to take three points away from Turf Moor, and have now won their opening four Premier League matches for only the third time, having previously done so in 2018/19 and 2019/20 – their title-winning campaign.
Despite racking up eight goals across their opening three games, Liverpool were surprisingly toothless in attacking areas at times, as they struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
With Isak now in the mix, Liverpool boast an embarrassment of riches in forward areas, and at times on Sunday, Slot may have wished he had called on him sooner than planned, despite his clear reluctance to throw the Swede in at the deep end.
However, as they have done in every game so far this season, Liverpool persevered until the very end, and their efforts paid dividends.
Liverpool, who are yet to truly get out of first gear this season, face a tough week ahead as they host Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, followed by Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Saturday.
Club reports
Next PL fixturesKey facts
Liverpool are the first side in Premier League history to win four consecutive matches thanks to a winning goal scored in the final 10 minutes or later.
Salah has now scored 188 Premier League goals, moving ahead of Andrew Cole (187) into outright fourth in the top goalscorers chart (Wayne Rooney third on 208).
Since the start of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, no side have received more red cards in the competition than Burnley (eight – level with Arsenal and Liverpool), despite the Clarets spending last season in the Championship.