Salah strikes at the death as relentless Liverpool edge out resilient Burnley
Liverpool needed another late rescue act to protect a perfect start, as Mohamed Salah’s stoppage-time penalty sealed a 1-0 win that felt as cruel to Burnley as it was cathartic for the champions. The decisive moment arrived deep into added time when Jeremie Frimpong’s cross struck substitute Hannibal’s outstretched arm, leaving referee Michael Oliver with an uncomplicated decision and Salah with the chance to settle it.
Until then, Arne Slot’s side had dominated but not dazzled, monopolising the ball yet struggling to pierce Scott Parker’s massed defence. Burnley finished with 10 men after Lesley Ugochukwu’s late second yellow card, and while Martin Dubravka and a disciplined rearguard held out for almost the entirety, Liverpool’s persistence once more paid off at the last.
Parker’s trench warfare almost delivers the perfect plan