Liverpool have been here too many times this season. Another late goal cost them points.
This time, Richarlison’s 1-1 draw with struggling Tottenham cost them a chance to finish fourth.
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Don’t the players who were booed by fans throughout the game know this?
“I feel flat,” Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored the Reds’ 18th-minute opener, told Sky Sports.
“We have to wake up because if we continue like this we should be happy with the divisional league. I don’t know why this is happening, I honestly don’t know.
“The last minute comes up again, I don’t know how many times this season it’s happened.”
Eight times, that’s all.
This season, Liverpool have conceded eight Premier League goals in the 90th minute or later, the most they have conceded in a single season, surpassing the seven in 2010-11. Each one cost them points.
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Why does this happen? How much will they lose by the end of the season?
How many more points can Liverpool score…
In more than a quarter of Premier League games this season, Liverpool have either conceded or conceded a goal after 90 minutes.
Five of the teams were defeated by Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Manchester City and Wolves respectively and scored winning goals.
Three of those draws were draws – against Leeds United, Fulham and now Tottenham Hotspur, although that match against Fulham saw the Reds lead 2-1 in the fourth minute of stoppage time only to concede three minutes later.
By comparison, Liverpool have won three games with last-minute or injury-time goals, two of which came in the first four games of the season.
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Without these final concessions, the Reds would have reached 60 points and all but sealed their place in the Champions League.
Instead, they sit fifth – which may be enough to secure a place in next season’s competition – but just one point above Chelsea, who lost to Newcastle at the weekend. Aston Villa, two points ahead of fourth place, was also beaten by third-placed Manchester United on Sunday.
“It’s an absolute disaster in terms of qualifying for the Champions League,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“When Aston Villa and Manchester United play, someone is going to drop points.
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“It’s coming, I said the whole second half. They were sleepwalking. Liverpool were all over the place.”
Reds boss Arne Slaughter admitted: “We conceded too many goals to gain the points that the club and I are used to.”
Liverpool were not completely flawless in the period leading up to the 90th minute.
Starting from the 75th minute, they have conceded 15 league goals. No other team in the league conceded more goals in the final 15 minutes.
“Does it depend on the head coach or the makeup of the team?”
Who is to blame for these final points drops? Why did it perform so poorly after winning the Premier League last season?
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“It was a poor performance considering the opponent. It was a performance that was motivated by other results – but that’s been the case all season,” Carragher said.
“The big question is, does it depend on the head coach or the makeup of the team? I’m not really sure.”
What causes this? The problem is, if Liverpool knew, they would have sorted it out by now.
In order to find a theme, Dutch Slaughter pointed out that all goals are not similar.
He told Sky Sports: “Again in the last minute, after another chance to score, again we left the pitch with a disappointing result.”
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“The way we concede goals in the last minute is not always the same. You can’t compare the deflected shot against Wolves with the shot today. All their moments came from long balls and second balls and we couldn’t clear the ball fast enough.
“As the season goes on, it’s not entirely surprising that we conceded a late goal.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Slott added: “Every time it happens at the last minute it’s a huge frustration.
“How many times does this need to happen? It happened again today. This time it’s not a complete surprise – the last 15-20 minutes of the game are the most equal parts of the game.”
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And the boos from the Anfield fans?
Both Sloter and Szoboszlai said they understood this, but the midfielder added that they should “support us in difficult times” ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Galatasaray, who are 1-0 down.
“I’m 100 per cent sure if they turn up on Wednesday they’ll be supportive from the start again, but if the team isn’t playing to the standard they’re used to, I think it’s completely normal for them to be frustrated,” Slaughter added.
“Arne Slott has to look at himself,” former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live.
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“If Liverpool play like they did in midweek then they will be knocked out of the Champions League.”
Ngumoha offers a glimmer of hope?
Leo Ngumoha was lively on his first league start [Getty Images]
One positive for Liverpool was the performance of 17-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha on his first Premier League start.
He became the first player to attempt seven or more dribbles in a Premier League game and complete them all since Matheus Cunha for Wolves against Aston Villa in May 2023.
Ngumoha has previously made 11 substitute appearances in the league and has featured in every cup match this season.
“I think I said two months ago that he was progressing really well as a 16-year-old and now that he’s 17, he’s progressing really well,” Slaughter said.
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“A performance like today will only help him get more game time for the club.
“I have 12 or 13 players who can bring a good performance. Rio has performed well and it makes sense to play him.”