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Liverpool left it late to come out on top against Burnley on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah stepping up deep into stoppage time to ensure that Arne Slot's side maintained its 100 per cent record in the Premier League this season.
Up until Hannibal Mejbri's handball offense as he turned his back on a Jeremie Frimpong cross, Liverpool had dominated possession but struggled to create much in the way of clear-cut chances. The Reds only mustered four shots on target, including the penalty kick, but limited Burnley to only one attempt from inside Alisson Becker's box.
"World-class players, that’s what they do: turn up in the big moments," Micah Richards said on Sky Sports at the final whistle. "He got his goal, but Burnley... I think it’s so cruel, isn’t it?
"Man sent off, still dealing with the threat — in fairness to Slot, he changed it, put Frimpong down there which caused the penalty — but they didn’t deserve that. A draw was a fair result."
As Roy Keane argued, though, Liverpool did just enough to win the game. When a team is under pressure for such a long period, it only takes one moment of magic or a mistake to tip the balance.
"Burnley showed a lot of grit, but Liverpool deserved to win the game by the way they dominated," Keane said. "Liverpool lacked quality, their final pass was so off today — but we were sitting there thinking they would get one more chance.
"And with Burnley, there’s a bit of madness at the end, just like at Old Trafford (two weeks ago when it conceded another late penalty to lose 3-2). When you come up, you have got to give yourself a bit of a chance.
"It’s not as if Hannibal’s unlucky. It’s madness, it’s cost them a point. And a point would have felt like a win. So it does knock them. Liverpool stuck at it, you have to keep going until the end. That’s what the top teams do."
Scott Parker said his team defended well and the late goal was a heartbreaker for his players, but he could have no complaints with the awarding of the penalty, with Hannibal's arm outstretched.
"I've seen disappointments in my time and my career," Parker said on Sky Sports. "At times, we survived like our lives depended on it today. We knew we had to give that.
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"The overriding factor here is that everything we set about to be today, I am immensely proud of the players. The game ends in a real heartbreaking way for us. It is what it is.
"We just fell a little bit short with the last-minute penalty. We needed to deny space, that was critical for us, and we did that. We defended very, very well.
"We didn't look much of a threat going forward but it is what it is. We are trying to get a result and we are trying to survive it is just a shame the way it ended.
"It is handball. In the law of it it is handball. We will have to change in the technique of defending things with hands behind the back. But really proud of the team."
Liverpool.com says: The Reds will have to improve at some point, but that is likely to happen. The new players are still settling in and they haven't had enough time to bed in properly yet. In a few weeks, things should look a lot smoother.
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