Arne Slot makes 'lucky' Liverpool admission after Mo Salah's late penalty beats Burnley

Arne Slot admits Liverpool were “lucky” after Mohamed Salah’s last-gasp penalty earned victory at promoted Burnley.

The Reds were heading for a goalless draw when Clarets substitute Hannibal Mejbri handled a cross from Jeremie Frimpong inside the area to give Salah the chance to score five minutes into additional time and send Slot's side three points clear.

Liverpool had dominated possession but struggled to create chances with £125m man Alexander Isak missing.

And Slot said: “A draw was probably what we expected throughout the game. But we tried with the substitutions we made to bring on to the pitch all the players we have who can attack, we had six or seven on in the end.

READ MORE: Mo Salah strikes last gasp penalty to earn Liverpool win at Burnley - 5 talking points

READ MORE: Arne Slot makes concerning Milos Kerkez admission after brutal Liverpool substitution

“I don’t know if that has anything to do with scoring the goal but we did create the penalty and just before a big chance from Jeremie. So relief, lucky.”

Explaining Isak’s absence, Slot said: “He was doing recovery (today), he had a hard and tough session yesterday.

“Alex is far from ready for a schedule for three games in a week for 90 minutes. Now we will be able either Wednesday or Saturday to play 45 as a minimum or maybe a bit more.

"But if he plays 45 on Wednesday don’t expect him to play 45 or more on Saturday because his body is not prepared for that in our opinion.”

Burnley had lost to an injury-time penalty at Manchester United last time out, and boss Scott Parker – who saw midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu sent off for two bookable offences late on – admitted: “It’s heartbreaking the way the game finishes for us.

“Two games in row now in the dying minutes two penalties decide the game. It’s harsh, but that’s this league.

“It’s probably a penalty, the learning from it for us is that we probably need to train defenders to put their arms behind their back.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.