At Liverpool's AXA training centre, the walls are filled with photos after The Kop's Premier League games this season.
Most recently, Mohamed Salah's face appeared alongside the images of Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha and Dominik Szoboszlai - who shined in victories against Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Arsenal.
In the match against Burnley, Salah's penalty kick in the 95th minute helped Liverpool gain 3 valuable points.
This is not a classic performance of Liverpool, but it once again affirms the indomitable spirit of this team, while maintaining a perfect start to the new campaign.
Ahead of the match, attention turned around a player who was not even named in the starting lineup at Turf Moor. Alexander Isak, a Liverpool rookie with a record fee of £ 125 million, has not been used by coach Arne Slot.
The Dutch captain admitted after the match that the Swedish player was "not ready" after the pre-season was interrupted.
Arne Slot still fielded his strongest squad. The "Red Brigade" dominated the first half but did not really cause difficulties for goalkeeper Martin Dubravka of Burnley. The visitors entered the break with a ball possession rate of up to 78%, making 10 shots compared to Burnley's 2 shots. However, Andrew Robertson's easy finish was their only clear chance.
Robertson's presence on the pitch is proof of Arne Slot's determination. The Scottish captain came on as a replacement for Milos Kerkez in the 38th minute after the Hungarian player received a yellow card.
This is not the first time Arne Slot has boldly made substitutions. He took Jarell Quansah out in midfield in his first match leading Liverpool against Ipswich Town last season. And once again, the Dutch strategist proved that he was not afraid to make risky decisions to maximize the team's chances of victory.
Conor Bradley's early entrance into the second half was also a bold move, freeing Dominik Szoboszlai to push him up in his preferred midfield position. This adjustment immediately gave Liverpool new creative inspiration. However, Burnley defended strongly, with Dubravka making excellent saves.
However, things got worse for the home team late in the game, when Lesley Ugochukwu received a second yellow card for a foul on Florian Wirtz. He has previously been cautioned for a rough foul on Alexis Mac Allister.
After that, the player came on as a replacement, Hannibal Mejbri, so that the ball touched his hand in the penalty area from a pass from Frimpong in extra time. This mistake by Burnley opened up an opportunity for Salah to finish accurately on the 11m mark.
The Egyptian's successful penalty kick means Liverpool have scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute or so in all 4 matches at the start of the season (88 minutes against Bournemouth, 90+10 against Newcastle and 83 minutes against Arsenal).
This is also the third time they have won all four of their first Premier League games, previously in 2018-2019 (second) and 2019-2020 (championship).
When asked after the match about Liverpool's habit of winning late, Arne Slot commented: "I know it's very difficult to create chances against a team with 11 players in the box.
They did it very well, almost got 1 point, so I don't say anything negative. I just want to explain how difficult it is to face a Premier League team, because they are also very good players."
Against Burnley, Liverpool fought until the final whistle, proving that even with an all-star squad, perseverance and effort are still irreplaceable factors.
Currently, Liverpool is the only team in the tournament to still have a 100% perfect record, including victories against 2 teams in the top 5 last season. For a team that has not yet reached its peak form, this is an incredible achievement.
However, Liverpool also showed that they are not invincible. In the wins over Bournemouth and Newcastle, their weaknesses in defence were clearly revealed. And sometimes The Kop also lack creativity against Arsenal and Burnley.
With an increasingly tight schedule and an increased pace of matches, Arne Slot certainly sees that his team needs to improve if they want to maintain their winning streak.
