Liverpool returned to the Champions League on Wednesday, as they welcomed Atletico Madrid to Anfield. And, not for the first time this season, Arne Slot’s men left things very late as a 92nd-minute goal from captain Virgil van Dijk proved decisive. The Reds’ 3-2 victory gives them a great start in the league phase of the competition, but they won’t want to leave things quite so late when they face the likes of Real Madrid or Inter Milan.
Liverpool have now played five competitive games this season (excluding the pre-season showpiece of the Community Shield aside), and they’ve won every one of them. Notably, however, the Reds have also scored late – sometimes very late – goals every time. So let’s take a look back at the five matches and find out who Liverpool’s late-goal heroes have been.
Liverpool 4-2 Bournemouth – Friday 15th August – Premier League
Late Goal Heroes: Federico Chiesa (88′) & Mohamed Salah (90’+4)
Slot’s side kicked off their Premier League title defence at Anfield against Bournemouth, and things weren’t quite as easy as some of their fans had hoped. Despite going two goals up in the opening 45, Liverpool were pegged back to 2-2 after Antoine Semenyo’s second-half brace.
As the final whistle approached, Slot brought on Federico Chiesa, and the Italian scored in the 88th minute to save Slot’s blushes. Mohamed Salah added the injury-time icing to the cake of victory as he scored Liverpool’s fourth in the 94th minute. One game, one win… two late goals. It was a sign of things to come.
Newcastle United 2-3 Liverpool – Monday 25th August – Premier League
Late Goal Hero: Rio Ngumoha (90’+10)
The Reds had left it late against Bournemouth, but when they visited Newcastle at St James’, they took things to another level. There was no love lost in this match as the ongoing Alexander Isak saga was at boiling point. Against the run of play Liverpool struck first, but the Magpies got on level terms just before the break. One of the Reds’ many summer signings, Hugo Ekitike, put Slot’s men back in front before Newcastle levelled once more, in the 88th minute, through Will Osula.
Slot turned to the subs’ bench again and made three injury-time changes, one of which was to bring on teenager Rio Ngumoha in the 96th minute. That change paid dividends for the visitors as the 16-year-old scored the winning goal in the 100th minute to become the youngest Liverpool scorer ever.
Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal – Sunday 31st August – Premier League
Late Goal Hero: Dominik Szoboszlai (83′)
Compared to the previous late goals, Liverpool’s winner against Arsenal was very much on the early side. But anything after the 80th minute counts as “late” in our book. And in a relatively even and measured encounter, in which neither side took many risks, it was always probable that a single goal could prove to be the difference between them.
That turned out to be the case as Dominik Szoboszlai’s 83rd-minute strike maintained the Reds’ 100% start to their Premier League season, and left Slot scratching his hair-free head about why his side couldn’t wrap things up just a little earlier.
Burnley 0-1 Liverpool – Sunday 14th September – Premier League
Late Goal Hero: Mohamed Salah (90’+5 pen)
Stubborn Burnley threatened to grind out a bore draw at Turf Moor in this one. The home side mustered just 19% of the possession, and didn’t produce a single shot on goal. But Scott Parker’s men were a whisker away from holding the champions to a draw. Of course, Liverpool were now well used to leaving it late by this point, so they didn’t panic. And Slot used his sizeable squad to full effect yet again as he made two 87th-minute subs, one of whom – Jeremie Frimpong – helped create the goal.
Frimpong’s injury-time cross was handled in the box by Burnley’s Tunisian midfielder Hannibal. And up stepped Mohamed Salah to convert the 95th-minute spot kick and break Burnley hearts. Liverpool maintained their position at the top of the table as the only side to have won all their games.
Liverpool 3-2 Atletico Madrid – Wednesday 17th September – UEFA Champions League – League Stage
Late Goal Hero: Virgil van Dijk (90’+2)
And so to Europe, and surely Liverpool could get the job done early in their quest for their first Champions League trophy since the 2018/19 campaign. Things certainly looked positive on that front at Anfield as the home side raced to a two-goal lead after just six minutes. Andrew Robertson deflected a Mohamed Salah free-kick into the back of the Atletico net after just four minutes. And Salah himself scored his team’s second just a couple of minutes later after wriggling free of defenders and slotting past Jan Oblak.
The Reds haven’t done things the easy way this term, however. Atletico struck back in first-half injury time through Marcos Llorente, who poked the ball home from 12 yards out. Llorente got his second goal in the 81st minute when his well-struck volley from outside the box was deflected past Alisson. Cue “Arne Time”.
Deep into injury time, Liverpool won a corner, which was swung deep by Szoboszlai. Up stepped captain Virgil van Dijk, the Dutch defender powering his header into the goal, earning a vital three points for his team.
Liverpool New Trend Could Prove Costly
As exciting as the late winners have been for Liverpool fans this term, ultimately, the trend is not going to be sustainable over the course of the season. Interestingly, the Reds scored just three winning goals in the last 10 minutes of Premier League matches over the whole of the 2024/25 campaign. They’ve already surpassed that (with four from four games!).
Of course, in many games last term, the Reds didn’t need to rely on late goals as they were already comfortably ahead. As such, ordinarily, they wouldn’t have been pushing to increase the scoreline in injury time and would perhaps be seeing games out instead.
Statistically, it’s very unlikely Liverpool will continue to be able to find late winners, even with the quality of the players that are usually sitting on their bench. Added to that, sides will simply shut up shop in the closing stages of matches, perhaps bringing on additional defensive players or adjusting their tactics accordingly. It is now Slot’s task to find a way for Liverpool to get themselves ahead, and crucially to stay ahead, so that his side doesn’t have to rely on late, late goals in every match.