Burnley Manager: We’ve Been Denied by Late Penalties in Two Consecutive Premier League Games – It’s Truly Heartbreaking

In Sunday night’s Premier League Matchday 4 fixture, Burnley lost 0-1 to Liverpool at home. After the game, Burnley manager Scott Parker attended the post-match press conference.

This was a game with plenty of narrative – is "heartbreaking" the right word to describe it?

“Yeah, I think that’s exactly it. The ending was really heartbreaking for us, and it’s now two weeks in a row – both games decided late on, both decided by penalty decisions – and we didn’t get the result we deserved. So yeah, it’s incredibly disappointing.”

Before that moment, how did you feel about your players’ performance?

“Proud, and satisfied. We came into this game with a clear plan today. When you’re up against an incredible team like Liverpool – and we’ve all seen it over the last two or three years – you simply can’t give them space. Give them space, and they’re lethal; they want to up the tempo to suit their counter-attacks.

“Our plan today was to avoid doing exactly that. For the most part, we executed it really well. Of course, there were moments where we let them pick up the tempo and caused ourselves problems. But overall, I think the lads really showed what we’ve been working on all season – they were composed, well-prepared and focused this week. Honestly, I feel so sorry for them. I’m 44 now, I’ve had my ups and downs, and I understand disappointment in professional sport and in life. I think these moments can be painful, but if we’d won that game, it would have been a really powerful moment for this group. Still, there’s a lot to be proud of today.”

Across four games, there’s a lot to be positive about – the last two performances have been competitive, yet you’ve lost three. Is that too harsh?

“It is harsh, but that’s the Premier League. You can lose games in this league, especially when you’re a team like us – sometimes you’ll come up short. But you want to see progress, you want to see us being competitive. And today, I definitely saw that – I’ve seen it in the last few games too. Going to Old Trafford, losing to a late penalty; today, the same against Liverpool. But we were competitive in those games, and that gives me satisfaction.”

What’s your take on the penalty decision today?

“Yeah, it’s probably a penalty, but I’ve got no issue with Hannibal. He was only two, three, four yards from the ball, and it was traveling so fast – when he turned, his natural reaction was to put his arm out. Anyone who tries to turn in that situation will understand that reaction. The only disappointment is that maybe he could have faced up to it more directly.

“But I think, for us – or at least for me as a manager – the learning here is that we might need to train our defenders to keep their hands behind their backs when defending. It’s a whole new skill; I’ve never seen that in football before, but I think we might actually have to look at training that.”

What about Ugochukwu’s red card?

“Honestly, I didn’t get a great view of it. It looked like a second yellow card, and I probably don’t have an issue with it – it seemed to be that way. So there’s nothing to complain about there.”

How would you rate Florentino Luís’ performance?

“He was excellent. I thought he was brilliant when he came on – he’s the kind of player who steps right in and fits into the game straight away. You can tell he’s got plenty of experience, and he really helped us out. I’m really looking forward to working with him more going forward.”

Bruun Larsen wasn’t in the squad today – what’s his situation?

“He’s just got a bit of discomfort. He’s had a sore heel since returning from international duty. He trained yesterday, but he still didn’t feel right, and I didn’t want to take a risk, so we left him out today.”