Some people will never learn. There has been a trend at Anfield of late for certain fans to make for the exits before the final whistle, all so they can get a head start on the post-match traffic.
It is an act that has always befuddled: you wouldn’t leave the cinema before the end credits, you wouldn’t walk out of a restaurant before dessert has been served, you wouldn’t leave an Oasis concert before you’ve heard Don’t Look Back in Anger, so why do different rules apply with football?
Anfield is a place where remarkable things often happen during games, particularly at the end. Why, then, is there a willingness to go before the final act? More fools those who didn’t stick around for the conclusion to the blockbuster with Atletico Madrid.
Still, it seems there is a consensus the late shows that Arne Slot’s men are staging indicate in some way they are lucky, the beneficiaries of a charmed existence. True, they won’t always save themselves before the final reckoning but nothing that has happened recently owes anything to fortune.
Turning things around when all seems lost isn’t anything new for Liverpool. This observer’s first vivid memory of it came during a match against Luton in January 1992: David Pleat’s team were bottom of the old First Division and poised to pull off a quite miraculous win, as they 1-0 in the 85th minute.
Come full-time, Luton had been beaten 2-1 with Steve McManaman and Dean Saunders scoring the goals in front of The Kop. It was bedlam but the moment the first arrived, there was an inevitability the second was going to come, particularly at that end of the pitch.
Virgil van Dijk dramatic goal against Atletico Madrid was their fifth late winner in a row
Van Dijk’s header earned Liverpool a 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League
The consensus appears to be that Arne Slot’s side are lucky – but that is not the case
Late drama is in Liverpool’s fabric: Gary MacAllister at Goodison Park in April 2001, with a free-kick to break Evertonian hearts and transform a campaign; Michael Owen (2001) and Steven Gerrard (2006) completely altering the pattern of two of the most extraordinary FA Cup finals you could wish to see.
Over the past 10 years, however, there has been a culture change. Jurgen Klopp was mocked for lining his team up in front of The Kop after Divock Origi came up with an injury-time equaliser against West Brom but that was as crucial a goal as any in the German’s fledgling tenure.
Since September 2015, Liverpool have scored 140 goals in the 85th minute and beyond (not including games that have gone into extra-time). It’s a staggering record but, remarkably, it isn’t the best – Manchester United (147) and Manchester City (146) have, according to Opta, slightly more.
Liverpool are most potent at home – they and City have plundered 81 goals in what boxers would call “the championship rounds”, the moments that really count and the only surprise about Virgil van Dijk’s header was the people were surprised he scored so late.
The thing about Liverpool under Slot is you always believe one last chance will come their way, no matter the circumstances. Critics bemoaned the penalty they were awarded at Burnley last Sunday – critics never considered the pressure Burnley had been under.
Manchester United had a habit of wearing teams down in their peak years under Sir Alex Ferguson – Liverpool will never forget the FA Cup fourth round tie in January 1999 when they conceded twice in stoppage time to lose, having led 1-0 – and it all came from reputation.
Liverpool have that now: put yourself into the mindset of a defender with tiring legs, trying to cope with the broiling noise and the constant pressure of the champions moving the ball one way then another, body shots that are designed to lower a guard and leave them susceptible to a knockout.
Nothing about what they are doing is lucky, only tribalism would convince you it is: was Dominik Szoboszlai’s dummy at St James’s Park in the 100th minute to set up Rio Ngumoha lucky or the action of a world-class player who was thinking with clarity when other minds were scrambled?
Critics have failed to mention the pressure Liverpool put on Burnley leading to their penalty
Rio Ngumoha’s winner at Newcastle came after Dominik Szoboszlai’s intelligent dummy
Of course, Slot and his squad crave uneventful 3-0 wins but when it comes to it, the willing to fight is exemplary. It took them time to find their stride 12 months ago and it’s obvious the same thing is happening again. But, as they are adjusting, they are gaining confidence in a priceless way.
‘We don’t want to come into a situation where we have to chase,’ said van Dijk. ‘You have to try to go for the win and I think we had the opportunities to kill the game (against Atleti) and do better. But it is still progress, we are still learning and I am pretty confident we are going to get there.
‘We showed again the resilience we have shown for a couple of years but I think it was a little bit unnecessary. It was frustrating to concede the equaliser in that manner we did but the way we reacted was really good.’
And really dramatic. Nobody will be dashing to beat the traffic anytime soon.
