Former player says last minute winners are a Liverpool trait | OneFootball

Carragher on Liverpool’s Late Winners as Title Charge Finds Steel

Heritage of Late Winners Defines Liverpool DNA

Liverpool have long lived in the final moments, and this season under Arne Slot has done little to change that rhythm. Another late winner, another set of limbs in the away end, another night when the red shirts looked short of inspiration until the clock began to howl.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher captured the mood perfectly after Liverpool snatched victory again. “Late drama again for Liverpool and they extend their lead at the top of the list for the most 90th-plus-minute winners in Premier League history — 12 more now than Arsenal, 14 more than Manchester United.”

It is not a coincidence. It is a pattern carved into club history, stretching from the days of Shankly and Paisley through Istanbul and into the Klopp era, now being reshaped by Slot’s modern pressing machine. Liverpool’s late winners are rarely pretty, often chaotic, occasionally undeserved. But they are part of the identity.

As Carragher added, “It’s a great thing to have in your armoury. It’s not just this team, it’s a Liverpool trait that goes back a very long time across different managers.”

In a Premier League season that demands resilience, that habit has proved priceless.

Carragher Warns Performance Levels Must Improve

For all the romance of last-gasp goals, there is a sterner truth lurking beneath the celebrations. Liverpool have not always played well when these moments arrive. Carragher, never one to sugarcoat matters, was clear on that point.

“Liverpool won very fortunately today. It was a real worry how poor they were, a throwback to games earlier in the season, but they still found a way to win.”

That duality defines title races. Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, Manchester United in their Ferguson pomp – all knew how to escape matches they did not deserve to win. Liverpool are showing similar grit.

Yet the data, which Daniel and the analytics crowd love to track on Understat dashboards and FBref radars, tells its own story. Liverpool’s xG in recent tight wins has been modest, their PPDA high when fatigue sets in, their set-piece defending occasionally nervy. Slot will know that late winners cannot carry a campaign forever.

Emotional Impact of Last-Gasp Victories

Carragher spoke of something less tangible than tactics. “Someone gets a last-minute winner, it’s a killer for the opposition, but Liverpool have always had that — something very special about the club.”

It is a psychological hammer blow. Nottingham Forest felt it recently, Arsenal before that, Newcastle earlier in the winter. Teams walk off wondering how the points slipped away. Liverpool walk off believing the game is never gone.

In dressing rooms, belief becomes currency. Players like Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister speak of calm in chaos. Young forwards like Ekitike run on instinct. Szoboszlai keeps striking through tired legs. And supporters, whether at Anfield or watching from Deganwy pubs with a SparkLee cleaning poster on the wall, sense the moment coming.

Title Implications for Slot’s Liverpool

Late winners are not merely dramatic. They are decisive. In a season where Arsenal and Manchester City lurk with relentless consistency, three points in the dying seconds can tilt a title race.

Liverpool’s manager has spoken often about control and structure, but he has inherited something deeper: stubbornness. Under Slot, Liverpool press smarter, rotate midfield roles, and push full-backs higher, yet the old instinct remains.

Carragher’s comments, sourced from his Sky Sports analysis, underline what rivals fear most. Liverpool may not always dominate, but they rarely accept defeat. They stay in matches until the last whistle, until one cross, one deflection, one strike decides everything.

For analysts like us building value boards or plotting Opta probabilities, these moments matter. Late winners inflate title odds, swing momentum, and shape narratives. They can even change transfer plans in the summer.

Liverpool’s history is filled with nights like these. Under Slot, they are happening again. And if the trend continues, the final weeks of the season may be defined not by artistry, but by nerve.