Jeremie Frimpong has dismissed suggestions that Liverpool have been fortunate after once again scoring a late winner
Arne Slot side continued a remarkable streak that has defined their early season. Virgil van Dijk’s stoppage-time header secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in their opening Champions League match, marking the fifth consecutive game in which the Reds have scored a decisive late goal.
Van Dijk became the fifth different Liverpool player to net a late winner this season, joining Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Mohamed Salah in producing late drama for the Merseyside club. Such moments have helped Liverpool top the Premier League table with a 100 per cent winning record, despite not always playing at their peak.
While Liverpool were pushed hard by Atletico, they did show moments of quality. Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead with early goals, only for Marcos Llorente to pull back a brace for the Spanish side. The seesaw nature of the match highlighted both Liverpool’s resilience and their occasional vulnerabilities.
Frimpong, who played a key role in Bayer Leverkusen’s domestic double-winning campaign under Xabi Alonso in 2023/24, is no stranger to last-minute goals. The Netherlands international acknowledged that while it was frustrating to see Liverpool surrender a two-goal lead, the team’s mentality after their late victory was impressive.
“It’s part of football. Sometimes you score last-minutes,” Frimpong said. “I’ve had a lot of last-minutes in my career so far, usually with Leverkusen but the most important thing is that we won. I think we deserved to win, we were the better team, we played really well. Exactly, (it’s more than luck). In a match, you never know when you’re going to score. Of course, you like to score early on but sometimes it doesn’t work like that.”
He continued, reiterating that late goals are simply part of the game: “It’s part of football. Sometimes you score late, sometimes you score early. Sometimes it’s like that.”
Reflecting on Liverpool’s brief lapses against Atletico, Frimpong admitted: “Of course (we were a little frustrated to throw away the lead). I feel like when you’re 2-0 up, you want to keep the lead or score more. But it’s Champions League, we’re playing Atletico Madrid. Of course we can do better to stop it, but it’s football.”
He emphasised the importance of winning above all else, even if performances aren’t always perfect:
“We’re doing well right now, we’ve won all of our games. Football is about winning. Of course we can play better but if you play better and lose, no-one is going to care about that. Football is winning. Of course we can play better but the most important thing is winning. To win trophies you have to win. Of course play good as well, but you have to win and score goals.”
Frimpong concluded by underlining his ambitions with Liverpool:
“This is why I came to Liverpool. Liverpool is a winning team. They know how to win trophies and that’s what I want to do.”
As the Reds continue their campaign, their ability to snatch late victories will remain a key weapon, and with players like Frimpong backing the squad’s mentality, Liverpool look ready to combine resilience with ambition in both domestic and European competitions.
