Liverpool needed an injury-time penalty from Mohamed Salah to secure victory away to Burnley on Sunday to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season.
Newly-promoted Burnley looked to have earned themselves a battling point at Turf Moor, despite seeing midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu sent off in the last 10 minutes.
But all the Clarets' tireless work was undone four minutes into added time when Hannibal Mejbri blocked a Jeremie Frimpong cross with his elbow, gifting Liverpool a penalty kick.
And last season's Golden Boot winner Salah sent Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka the wrong way from the spot and made it four wins from four for Arne Slot's side.
Salah notched his 35th goal from the spot for Liverpool which saw him overtake Billy Liddell’s club record of 34.
“Tough opponent today, we tried our best to get the ball between the lines. It was tough but I am glad we managed it,” said the Egyptian, whose finish also moved him up to fourth place on the Premier League’s all-time scorers chart, with 188 goals, one more than Andy Cole.
“We have a few new players in the starting line up and it takes time to adapt to our game and we try our best to make them confident in our game.
“We don't give up. We try to push ourselves to the limit and as team we did that.”
Liverpool have left it late in every game so far, scoring late winners against Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Arsenal and now Burnley.
Captain Virgil van Dijk added: “We obviously try to break teams down. We had to be patient and had to be ready. We just kept looking for the goal and the opportunities. A well deserved win but if I am Burnley it is never nice to concede a penalty.
“At the end of the day it was a penalty and Mo scored it perfectly. He is a world-class player and we know he can deliver in these moments.”
The expected first appearance of British record signing Alexander Isak did not materialise after he was left out of the squad by manager Slot, who revealed that the Swedish striker was not yet match ready.
Isak spent the summer training on his own at Newcastle as he looked to force through his move to Merseyside and did not play a single minute of the Magpies' pre-season fixtures.
Slot, though, made it clear he would be available for the midweek clash with Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Champions League.
“We've decided it is the best for him to have a proper week of training instead of every time going for five or 10 minutes of playing,” Slot said before the game.
“I can assure the fans that he will be involved on Wednesday – but this game came a bit too early.”
And the Merseysiders certainly could have done with Isak's finishing skills as they registered 27 efforts on goal, but with only four on target.
There was only a single shot on target form both teams in a highly-contested, if short on quality, opening 45 minutes – when Liverpool substitute Andrew Robertson prodded a shot straight at Dubravka moments after coming on.
The turned the screw immediately after the break with Ryan Gravenberch firing just over the bar, Florian Wirtz clipping a shot just wide and Dominik Szoboszlai – Liverpool's match-winner against Arsenal before the international break – seeing a thumping effort saved.
Substitute Federico Chiesa, who scored after coming off the bench against Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, headed wide a Robertson cross when well placed.
But still the goal would not come with Scott Parker's side producing an admirable defensive performance, which was made even more difficult when Ugochukwu was shown a second yellow for a clumsy foul on Wirtz.
And Burnley were within touching distance of a point until Mejbri's elbow came to Liverpool's rescue with the former Manchester United man visibly distraught when referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot. His misery was complete when Salah fired home in style.
“I've seen disappointments in my time and my career,” said Burnley manager Parker. “At times we survived like our life depended on it today. We knew we had to give that.
“The overriding factor here is that everything we set about to be today I am immensely proud of the players. The game ends in a real heartbreaking way for us. It is what it is.
“We just fell a little bit short with the last-minute penalty.”
And Parker was sympathetic with Mejbri's mistake, adding: “I know how quick things move. His body action was turning and his arm has gone out. The ball is probably coming at 80mph and it has hit it.
“The only learning for Hannibal is that we will have to train with hands behind the back.”
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
