Liverpool's Late Game Heroes: Unraveling the Secrets Behind Their Last-Minute Magic (2025)

As Gary Neville stepped into a lift to make his way up to the commentary gantry at the Etihad Stadium ahead of Manchester City versus Manchester United, Liverpool were still drawing 0-0 with Burnley in added time. By the time he got out, Liverpool had scored — and he wasn’t surprised.

“I had absolutely no doubt that Liverpool would have scored,” he said on the Sky Sports Gary Neville Podcast. “They’ve got that thing at the moment that we (Manchester United) had, and which Manchester City have had. Teams that win leagues have it: that mentality.”

For those inside Turf Moor, the sense of inevitability did not feel so prominent. Arne Slot’s side had prodded and probed, but Burnley’s defensive wall looked watertight until the third minute of stoppage time, when Hannibal’s raised arm blocked a Jeremie Frimpong cross inside the penalty area.

Mohamed Salah converted the penalty which meant Liverpool became the only side in Premier League history to score winning goals in the final 10 minutes in four consecutive matches, following on from Federico Chiesa’s 88th-minute goal in the 4-2 victory over Bournemouth, Rio Ngumoha’s 100th-minute goal in the 3-2 win over Newcastle and Dominik Szoboszlai’s 83rd-minute free kick against Arsenal.

This manner of victory feels unsustainable in the long term, yet it is a useful habit to have. But why is it happening?

Attitude

There has been little pattern to the late goals Liverpool have scored. Two were due to exceptional moments (Szoboszlai’s dead ball and the move for Ngumoha’s winner) and two to luck (the Hannibal handball and the way the ball fell to Chiesa against Bournemouth).

What has tied all four together is the composure of the goalscorer. Both Chiesa and Ngumoha’s goals were not easy finishes, and given the stage of the match and the pressure attached to the situation, they both converted coolly.

Set-piece situations are more controlled, but that brings its own pressure, particularly for Salah’s penalty. Slot admitted even he was unsure about whether the Egypt international would score as he had missed his last two penalties for Liverpool against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield shootout and in the final pre-season friendly against Athletic Club. He did score one for Egypt during the international break against Ethiopia, and he made no mistake from the spot at Turf Moor.

Liverpool became ‘mentality monsters’ under former manager Jurgen Klopp, and some of the defining moments of his reign were underpinned by late goals. Following Liverpool’s 2-1 victory away to Aston Villa during the 2019-20 title-winning campaign, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola highlighted his rival’s fighting spirit.

“If it’s one time, two times (then it’s) ‘We were lucky’ but it happened in the last two seasons many, many times; they have a special character to do that,” he told reporters. “What Liverpool have done many times is because they have this incredible quality and this incredible talent to fight until the end.”

Yet this isn’t simply a trait developed under Klopp. Since the start of the Premier League in 1992, Liverpool have scored the most winners in the 90th minute or later of any team (47), 13 more than Arsenal.

It is a trend that has continued into the Slot era.

“Today we kept trying,” Virgil van Dijk said to reporters after the victory over Burnley. “We played against a team that had a very low block, so it was always going to be difficult. In the end, we got the penalty that we deserved because we kept pushing. The body language was good and we didn’t get frustrated."

Game-changing options

Attitude is one factor, but mentality counts for little if you don't have the resources to make a difference. Liverpool have not added depth to their attack in terms of numbers, but they do have difference-makers in reserve.

Chiesa and Ngumoha both scored their winners after coming off the bench, despite the former having had a frustrating first season at the club and the latter being a17-year-old with minimal senior experience.

Chiesa was not introduced against Bournemouth until 82 minutes, before scoring six minutes later, while Ngumoha had even less time to make an impact against Newcastle. He came on in the 96th minute and scored in the 100th. His fellow subs, Harvey Elliott and Chiesa, both played a part in the winning move.

It was a similar story against Burnley. Slot introduced Ngumoha and Jeremie Frimpong on 87 minutes to provide speed and variety to Liverpool’s attack. The pair nearly combined to open the scoring when Ngumoha set up his fellow substitute, but Frimpong’s effort was saved by Martin Dubravka. Six minutes after coming on, it was Frimpong’s cross that resulted in the penalty.

Knowing that these options are available to take advantage of tired teams is invaluable for Slot.

Slot's game of risk

Slot has also shown he is prepared to take a risk to try to win the game. He ended the game against Burnley with a front five (Salah, Chiesa, Ngumoha, Frimpong and Cody Gakpo) complemented by two attacking full-backs (Andy Robertson and Conor Bradley), a one-man midfield of Szoboszlai and his No 6 Ryan Gravenberch at centre-back alongside Van Dijk.

“In the end, you always come back to, ‘I don’t want to leave this stadium with a draw thinking I didn’t bring all my attackers in, all the guys that can score a goal’,” Slot said after the game.

“In another game, you may wonder if it's worth the risk to play with seven attackers, but against a team that plays with 11 players in their own 18-yard box, that’s not, I think, a big risk then and that’s why we decided to do that.”

It is the type of strategy that, in itself, can generate belief in players.

“The manager knows what he is doing and he has the full trust in me and the others at the back,” Van Dijk said when the question was posed about his head coach bringing on more attacking players.

As incredible as these moments are, and while they highlight the exact characteristics of title-winners, it is a trend that will eventually stop.

Liverpool’s players and coaching staff know this. Two years ago, under Klopp, it became a trademark for Liverpool to go behind in games and storm back to claim victory. Eventually, however, that stopped happening and Liverpool’s title hopes faded.

They’re finding different ways to win games, but Slot will want his players to start doing it the easy way before too long.

“To be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, you have to have wins like this, but we obviously have to improve and we are getting better and working hard on the training pitch,” Robertson said after the Burnley win.

“You need to start winning matches more comfortably, but it is pleasing that we have got four wins when we are not at our peak.”

(Top photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)