There was a period early in the second half when it looked like it was only a matter of time before Liverpool added a second goal to Florian Wirtz’s first-half strike.
From the Kop came the famous chant that goes, “A team that plays the Liverpool way.”
It wasn’t heavy metal football, but after weeks of struggling to break down low blocks, Liverpool were playing with extra momentum and getting behind Burnley’s backline.
Wirtz went close again before Cody Gakpo cleared an effort off the line but, out of nowhere, Burnley found a leveler through Marcus Edwards to silence Anfield.
“I wouldn’t say we shut down, but we couldn’t get the ball out the back,” Slot said. “It’s part of football. It sums up a lot of our season and today was another example.”
In hindsight, if Dominik Szoboszlai had converted his penalty in the first half, this game could have had a different outcome but, regardless of that failure, Liverpool should have put it to bed long before Burnley equalized.
“It’s not the first time. It’s usually frustrating,” Slot said. “They come in different forms. Sometimes we score a goal in stoppage time and you expect to win the game and then you concede another goal in stoppage time.
“But yes, in football one team can have two chances – one was almost an own goal – and score a goal while the other team has multiple chances and also only scores one goal.”
It’s now 12 games unbeaten, but the worst part for Liverpool is that in this run of four consecutive league draws, they should have won at least three.
Aside from the draw at Arsenal, they dropped points at home to Leeds and Burnley and were unable to hold on to a lead at Fulham despite a 94th-minute goal.
Those six extra points alone would have put Liverpool on 42 points, seven points clear of Manchester United in fifth and one point behind Manchester City and Aston Villa, who are second and third.
“We lost way too many points when we didn’t deserve to and we barely got a point when we deserved less,” Slot said. “The only one responsible is ourselves.”
At the very least, Liverpool can expect to have striker Mohamed Salah back in the coming days.
Salah also missed a penalty in the penalty shootout in Egypt’s third-place play-off defeat to Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations and will return to Merseyside in the coming days.
With trips to Marseille and Bournemouth next week, there is no doubt that the return of their talisman can only be positive for Liverpool.
Source | domain www.bbc.com
