Liverpool returned to the top of the table before Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal with a 2-1 win over Brighton at Anfield. This is what we spotted.
Liverpool moved back to the top of the Premier League after being made to work hard for a 2-1 win over Brighton.
The Reds couldn’t have made a much worse start as they found themselves behind within 90 seconds. Virgil van Dijk failed to clear his lines, with Danny Welbeck pouncing as he struck the ball home sweetly from the edge of the box.
Mohamed Salah had a multitude of chances to bring the hosts back level, but clearly didn’t have his radar calibrated following the international break as he fired over on a few occasions. Fortunately, Luis Díaz had his shooting boots on, and provided the perfect touch to beat Bart Verbruggen as Brighton appealed in vain for offside.
Liverpool seized control of proceedings after the break, but saw its path blocked by a solid Brighton defense for the most part until Salah eventually struck. It was no surprise to see Alexis Mac Allister play a decisive role in the goal with a brilliant pass into the Egyptian’s feet.
Brighton offered a few nervy moments late on, including former Red Adam Lallana going close to nicking an equalizer, but Liverpool managed to hang on to an important three points that sent it back to the top of the Premier League ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Arsenal. Here are the four things Liverpool.com spotted as the game unfolded.
Klopp can’t believe it
David Coote didn’t really endear himself to the Anfield faithful early on. The failure to award Darwin Núñez a penalty after a pull back from Pervis Estupiñán riled up the home crowd, before Alexis Mac Allister’s booking shortly after had them fuming.
To say it was harsh against the Argentine would be an understatement. He barely touched Simon Adingra as the Brighton man broke away, and Coote seemed to see it that way before changing his mind after a long delay.
The subsequent free-kick was met with cries of ‘cheat’ from the Anfield crowd. Jürgen Klopp’s reaction was a little more measured, although just as damning as he shook his head in disbelief. The cacophony of boos at half-time told you exactly what the Liverpool fans thought of the referee’s display.
‘The best player on the pitch’
Alexis Mac Allister has been simply sublime since the turn of the year, and he was once again an absolute joy to watch here. His ability to lift his head up and pick the absolute perfect pass was incredible. It’s just a shame Mohamed Salah didn’t make the most of the chances presented to him by the World Cup winner.
It’s no wonder Jamie Carragher dubbed him ‘the best player on the pitch’. And to think, he cost just $44m (£35m/€41m).
Salah’s relief
Having spurned so many great chances during the first half, Mohamed Salah looked more relieved than anything when his goal finally came in the second half.
Of course, Mac Allister would play a part with a wonderfully weighted through ball to find the Egyptian, and leave him with the simplest of finishes to finally put Liverpool ahead. The celebrations were muted in front of the Kop, although a beaming smile did emerge when he saw Mac Allister, no relieved he’d finally finished one of the chances created by the Argentine.
Coote’s strange delay
Just to add to the ill feeling towards Coote from the Anfield crowd, the referee chose to delay a Liverpool corner for a truly baffling reason. It was hard to know exactly what problem was until he took matters into his own hands.
The issue? Some stray balls behind the Brighton goal. Quite why they were enough to hold the game up is a bit of a mystery — a clearly confused Carragher summed it up by asking “what’s that about?”
