It never felt inevitable that Liverpool were going to emerge from Turf Moor with three points until Mohamed Salah was lining up a 95th-minute penalty. They dominated possession but struggled to break down 10-man Burnley whose organisation and hard work frustrated the visitors until Hannibal Mejbri’s stoppage-time handball gifted the points to the champions.
Arne Slot’s side have made a perfect start as they aim to retain the title, a task that should be made easier when he unleashes record £125m Alexander Isak, whose exile was extended by another match but it was not self-imposed on this occasion. With Liverpool lacking conviction in the final third, Isak would have been a welcome addition but, with a fourth straight victory secured, Slot need not worry about that.
It is the second time in successive games that a late penalty has cost Burnley a draw, having lost last time out at Manchester United in similar circumstances. Scott Parker will be proud of his players who in a season that could be defined by the finest of margins, the points dropped, will frustrate. Burnley were holding on, and deservedly so, not helped by Lesley Ugochukwu being dismissed late on for a second bookable offence but a further self-inflicted defeat.
