Just three days beforehand, ليفربول had beaten بيرنلي 1-0 thanks to an injury-time penalty from Mohamed Salah. In doing so, they became the first team in الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز history to win four consecutive matches with goals scored in the last 10 minutes – or later.
Consequently, there was an air of inevitability about the way in which Liverpool kicked off their دوري أبطال أوروبا campaign, with Virgil van Dijk deciding the game in the home side’s favour with a 92nd-minute header.
Anfield unsurprisingly went wild – for the third time this season – but plenty of pundits were far less impressed by Liverpool’s latest late show. "You want this to happen," former تشيلسي striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said on Match of the Day "but when this happens five times in a row, that’s a problem."
Is it really, though? Are Liverpool’s last-gasp heroics papering over the cracks in Arne Slot’s expensively assembled side? Or are the Dutchman’s ‘Mentality Monsters’ showing signs of becoming an even more frightening foe?
nJust three days beforehand, Liverpool had beaten Burnley 1-0 thanks to an injury-time penalty from Mohamed Salah. In doing so, they became the first team in Premier League history to win four consecutive matches with goals scored in the last 10 minutes – or later.n
Consequently, there was an air of inevitability about the way in which Liverpool kicked off their Champions League campaign, with Virgil van Dijk deciding the game in the home side’s favour with a 92nd-minute header. n
Anfield unsurprisingly went wild – for the third time this season – but plenty of pundits were far less impressed by Liverpool’s latest late show. “You want this to happen,” former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said on Match of the Day “but when this happens five times in a row, that’s a problem.” n
Is it really, though? Are Liverpool’s last-gasp heroics papering over the cracks in Arne Slot’s expensively assembled side? Or are the Dutchman’s ‘Mentality Monsters’ showing signs of becoming an even more frightening foe?
Andy Robertson is always a good man for a frank assessment of a Liverpool performance and he openly admitted after the Atletico game that the players should have spared their supporters – and coaches – yet another stressful finale.n
“We need to maybe get back to winning a bit simpler and a bit easier,” the Scott told تي إن تي سبورتس alluding to the fact that the Reds had thrown away a 2-0 lead for the third time this season. n
“The assistant manager (Spike Hulshoff) turned to me when Virgil scored and said he’s getting too old for it, so I can’t imagine what the fans are like!n
“Obviously, it’s a great thing to have, being able to keep going right to the end, but when you’re two up and you’ve played so well in the first half, it should have been a more comfortable night.”n
Unsurprisingly, that was a sentiment shared by Slot, who turned 47 on Wednesday and is already hoping that his next birthday will be a less nerve-racking affair.
However, Slot was rightly keen to draw a distinction between the nature of the last-gasp victory over Atletico and the games that preceded it. Despite all of the claims to the contrary, there had been nothing fortunate about their triumph over Diego Simeone’s side.n
Atleti’s xG was 0.61 (Liverpool’s was 2.72), they created one ‘Big Chance’, in the dying seconds of the game for Alexander Sorloth, Marcos Llorente’s first goal never should have stood, while his second took a wicked deflection off Alexis Mac Allister.n
As a result, Slot confessed to feeling “a little disappointed” that Liverpool scored right at the death because it overshadowed what had gone before.n
“I know that’s going to be your headline and it’s great to score a late winner,” the Dutchman told reporters in his post-match press conference. “But I would have liked it more if we were saying, ‘Did you see the few attacks we had before half-time when Florian [Wirtz] and Alex combined together, which led to almost Jeremie [Frimpong] scoring, or second half a great attack with Dominik and Flo and Mo that ended up on the post?’n
“I can come up with so many great attacks we had today but probably no-one is talking about that. Everybody will probably talk again about the late game winner, which I understand because that is the story of this game and the story of the last five games. n
“But, for me, it was a different game than the ones we have played before. It is not for the first time that we give away a 2-0 lead as well, but was different to the one we gave away against بورنموث because this one had nothing to do with counter-attacks.n
“So, yes, there is a lot to improve but there is a lot to like as well.”n
Slot is right, too, because Liverpool unquestionably played their best football of the season during the Atleti clash.
The first six minutes were obviously sensational, with Robertson unintentionally diverting a Mohamed Salah free-kick past Jan Oblak before Liverpool’s Egyptian king produced a characteristically composed finish after a couple of deft touches saw him escape the clutches of a pair of opponents. n
Salah didn’t stop there either. Despite being directly involved in three goals in his first four Premier League outings of the new season, Salah’s form had become a cause for concern. He was struggling to get himself involved in games and even when the ball did come his way, he was miscontrolling passes that he normally would have killed instantly.n
Against Atletico, though, nearly everything stuck – no matter how much pressure he was under – and, for the first time this season, he was a constant threat from start to finish. n
Should he have scored a second goal after being teed up by Florian Wirtz? Absolutely, but the main thing was that Salah looked like his usual sensational self after four rather subdued showings.n
The spotlight may have been fixed firmly on Alexander Isak before the game – but Liverpool’s talisman had a goal and his assist to his name before the Swedish striker had even touched the ball.
Of course, the common consensus was that Isak would take time to get back up to speed, given this was his first start since last season due to his summer strike, so it was hardly surprising that the game rather passed him by during the early exchanges. n
However, Isak’s influence grew the longer the first half wore on and Slot, just like everyone else, was taken aback by the Swede’s sharpness. n
“I wasn’t surprised by his quality because that’s what we all know,” the Reds boss said. “You don’t have to be a manager to recognise how much quality he has. n
“But I was positively surprised by how fit he was during that 60 minutes, even if that maybe tells you that it might be a difference to sign a 20-year-old from a different league or a 25- or 26-year-old that is used to playing in this league. n
“Although he only trained for two weeks, he has so many games under his belt that he is probably more able to be ready for 60 than you would expect.”n
Perhaps even more pleasingly for Slot, Isak already looks to be operating on the same wavelength as Wirtz – with the pair linking up 11 times during Liverpool’s Champions League opener.
Slot hasn’t even attempted to deny that Wirtz has had some issues adapting to the physicality and intensity of English football. After the German had been forced off with cramp during the closing stages of the 1-0 win over أرسنال, his manager amusingly described the pain Wirtz was feeling as a “welcome to the Premier League”!
However, that was also the day that the £100 million man gave Anfield a first glimpse of what he’s capable of adding to a title-winning team.
Wirtz was outstanding in the second half of a game between two of the best teams in Europe and he offered another illustration of his quality against Atletico, creating five chances in total (more than any other player on the pitch) with his awareness, quick feet and clever movement.
Indeed, had it not been for Salah’s surprising wastefulness and a total miskick from Jeremie Frimpong, Wirtz would have had two assists. So, one could definitely see where Frimpong was coming from when he promised that his good friend was “just getting started” at Liverpool.
“I’ve been with him for four years in Leverkusen, so I know what he can do,” the right-back said. “And I’m seeing it now. It’s coming.”
It also feels as if there’s a real statement of intent coming from Liverpool too – and Saturday’s Merseyside ديربي at Anfield would obviously be the perfect place to make it.
It remains to be seen whether Slot will start Isak again in the derby. There’s every chance that Hugo Ekitike, who announced himself to Reds fans with three goals in first three competitive games, will be recalled up front. n
However, we can’t discount the possibility of the Frenchman featuring in the same forward line as Isak, given Ekitike is capable of playing on the left-hand side, where Cody Gakpo has underwhelmed in recent games despite making a strong start to the season. n
Slot could also opt to give Wirtz a rest and go with last season’s preferred midfield trio of Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister for what is likely to be a bruising encounter. n
Maybe, then, this won’t be the game where the revamped Reds finally produce a 90-minute performance. It could well be a typically tight and tense derby. Perhaps Liverpool will once again end up needing another late winner – which would obviously be interpreted as a worrying sign by Hasselbaink u0026amp; Co.n
“Giving goals away and, in the last moment, having to find a magic moment – yes, it’s good, you are showing resilience, that you don’t give up, but this is not going to keep on happening,” the Dutchman argued on Wednesday night. “You need to make life easier for yourself by not giving goals away.”n
And he’s right. Liverpool need to start showing the solidity they showed against Arsenal on a more regular basis. Relying on late goals is utterly unsustainable – but the point is that once Isak, Witz and Salah click, the relentless Reds won’t have to anymore. Sooner rather than the later, Merseyside’s Mentality Monsters are going to prove that they have as much quality as they do character – and that’s a truly terrifying thought for all of their rivals.n
