When Marcos Llorente scored his second purpose to equalise for at Anfield on Wednesday, his team-mates and their teaching employees flooded on to the pitch to have a good time.
Truthful sufficient, certainly? In any case, there have been lower than 10 minutes remaining and the Spaniards had survived a flurry of missed probabilities earlier than drawing degree in a sport during which they have been second greatest.
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However this was Arne Slot’s Liverpool, who’ve made a behavior of scoring late winners.
By the point captain Virgil van Dijk planted residence a robust header to grab a 3-2 victory, the stoppage-time winner felt as inevitable because it did thrilling for the house followers.
How spectacular is Liverpool’s late run?
Liverpool have scored late winners in all 5 of their aggressive matches this season:
4-2 v Bournemouth (H, Premier League) – Federico Chiesa 88′ and Mohamed Salah 90+4′
3-2 v Newcastle (A, Premier League) – Rio Ngumoha 90+10′
1-0 v Arsenal (H, Premier League) – Dominik Szoboszlai 83′
1-0 v Burnley (A, Premier League) – Mohamed Salah (pen) 90+3′
3-2 v Atletico Madrid (H, Champions League) – Virgil van Dijk 90+2′
Meaning the typical level at which Liverpool’s match-winning moments are taking place this season is after 91 minutes.
In 2024-25, the typical time they scored the successful purpose in matches they gained by a single purpose was 70 minutes.
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The run of late winners is a marked distinction from final season, when Liverpool solely scored 4 stoppage-time objectives in 48 matches throughout the Premier League and Champions League – with two in the identical sport at Brentford.
They did rating 13 occasions after the eightieth minute throughout that Premier League season – however 4 groups managed extra.
None of Liverpool’s rivals rating late winners at almost the identical price.
Trying on the different Premier League groups competing within the Champions League this season, Arsenal have the subsequent greatest price for successful objectives after the eightieth minute, however it’s a must to return 64 video games (and 16 months) to achieve the 5 Liverpool have scored of their previous 5 matches.
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And Liverpool’s flurry of late winners is already the longest in Premier League historical past.
Is there one thing particular about Slot?
Slot, who changed Jurgen Klopp final summer time, thinks self-belief and health have been key to Liverpool’s run.
“There will probably be video games the place we’re 2-0 up after six minutes, then we are going to rating a 3rd and will not want stoppage time to get a late winner,” he mentioned on Wednesday.
“There may also be video games the place we’d like one within the final minute and we can’t get it. However our mentality is we are going to at all times push. It is also about how match and the way nicely ready we’re that we’re in a position to push yet one more time.”
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Slot is already among the many managers with the best proportion of late wins in Premier League historical past.
Manchester United underneath Sir Alex Ferguson have been extensively considered the masters of the late winner.
And it is no shock to see Ferguson holds the report for many successful objectives scored after the 81st minute, although his outdated foe Arsene Wenger is just not far behind.
However even Ferguson’s United solely managed a longest run of two consecutive Premier League matches with winners scored after the eightieth minute – doing so 4 occasions.
Slot has additionally elevated Liverpool’s lead on the prime of the rankings for Premier League groups who’ve scored essentially the most winners within the ninetieth minute or later.
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The Reds have now scored 47, with Arsenal on 34 and United on 33.
Why are Liverpool scoring so late so usually?
The Reds’ late wins this season have come about in a wide range of circumstances.
Towards Bournemouth and Atletico they have been comfortably on prime and constructed a two-goal benefit, earlier than throwing away low cost objectives and in the end rectifying the state of affairs after piling on the strain.
At 10-man Newcastle in addition they threw away a two-goal lead – however their late winner got here towards the run of play.
And towards Arsenal and Burnley they struggled to create clear-cut alternatives towards resolute defences, in the end prevailing due to set-pieces.
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There isn’t any blueprint by which Liverpool are incomes these victories, then.
However wanting on the means the objectives have come about maybe provides some perception into why they’re taking place.
Liverpool’s squad has been considerably overhauled since Klopp set about revamping their midfield in the summertime of 2023. Solely 9 members of the first-team squad that completed the 2022-23 season stay.
The revitalised group is led by a small assortment of senior gamers who gained each trophy on supply underneath Klopp – Alisson, Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, and Salah.
The final of these has generated essentially the most purpose involvements for this season’s late winners – scoring twice and helping as soon as.
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In reality, regardless of the typical age of Liverpool’s squad being 26.2, greater than half of the late-goal involvements have been from gamers aged 32.5 or above.
The typical age per involvement of those that have scored or assisted Liverpool’s late objectives is 28.9 – and could be considerably larger (30.4) have been it not for 17-year-old Ngumoha.
Whether or not it’s Slot or these on the pitch, then, it’s largely Liverpool’s wisest heads who’re making the distinction in the important thing moments.