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Gary Neville says he knew Liverpool would score the winning goal against Burnley on Sunday — even though he stopped watching the Premier League clash at Turf Moor as the contest headed into added time.
Liverpool had been frustrated in the game up until that point. It took a handball offense as Jeremie Frimpong attempted to cross for the Reds to find the breakthrough, with Mohamed Salah staying cool from the spot.
Despite the stalemate for around 94 minutes, Neville was convinced that Arne Slot's side would find a way. Just like the peak version of his Manchester United team, the former Old Trafford full-back knew what was coming: a late breakthrough.
"[I thought] ‘I’ve got absolutely no doubts that by the time I get in this lift to come up to the gantry, Liverpool will have scored’," Neville explained on his Sky Sports podcast.
"As soon as I open the lift doors (at the Etihad Stadium, where he was commentating on the Manchester derby), what do I hear? One of the City fans says Liverpool have just scored. I knew that was going to happen because they’ve got that thing at the moment, haven’t they?
"That thing that maybe at times we [United] used to have, City have had it. Teams that win leagues have it."
So far this season, Liverpool has won late in each of its four Premier League matches. Federico Chiesa was the hero against Bournemouth, Rio Ngumoha against Newcastle United, and then Dominik Szoboszlai against Arsenal.
"They’re settling in players like Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez... Jeremie Frimpong too," Neville added. "They’re not at their absolute best, but they’ve got something and they won.
"That’s a really important thing to have. At the end of the game, it was Salah and Van Dijk doing the interview, talking about not being at their best but getting over the line.
"They’ve won the league twice at Anfield already. That comfort in the dressing room allows Wirtz, Ekitike and others to settle."
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Liverpool will take on Atletico Madrid next in the Champions League. The Reds then face the first Merseyside derby of the new season against Everton at Anfield in the early kick-off slot on Saturday.
"[There were] no really open chances, so a draw was probably what we expected throughout the game but we tried also with the substitutions we made to bring all the players we have that can attack on the pitch," Slot said.
"I think we were six or seven in the end. I don’t know if that has anything to do with us scoring the goal but we did create the penalty and just before that [had] a big chance from Jeremie [Frimpong]."
Liverpool.com says: At some point, Liverpool will have to improve. You would expect that to happen, though. After such a turnover in the playing squad this summer, it was always going to take a bit of time, with Alexander Isak yet to play a minute.
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