Mohamed Salah’s second-half penalty sent Brighton to a harsh defeat that they probably didn’t deserve.
Brighton had a few half-chances that they could have done better with, most notably Glenn Murray’s first-half header from Pascal Gross’ cross, which he failed to navigate on target. Gross also had a goal bound shot blocked midway through the second half.
A wrong offside call against Jurgen Locadia in the first half was an example of referee Kevin Friend’s poor performance, with the majority of 50/50 decisions going against the Seagulls, especially in the second half, where four handballs were given against Brighton. Locadia came close to levelling the game with a long-range effort that goalkeeper Alisson tipped around the post, but ultimately, the Seagulls didn’t create too many chances to get back into the game.
Liverpool restricted Albion to few chances in the second half but needed a penalty to break down the Seagulls, in what was a battling performance from Chris Hughton’s team.
Van Dijk key for Liverpool
Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk again delivered a commanding performance and stopped Brighton top-scorer Murray from having any sniff of a goal scoring chance.
Alongside makeshift centre back Fabinho, the Dutchman continued his good form this season with brilliant leadership and real quality with passes forward to the front line.
Dunk superb for Brighton
Brighton centre back Lewis Dunk continued to prove why he is so highly rated by both Albion fans, and England boss Gareth Southgate.
His partner in crime Shane Duffy has helped to get the best out of the Brighton-born defender since his arrival to the club in 2016. Dunk and Duffy compliment each other very well with Dunk being the better, and Duffy the more physical and dominant in the air.
In previous years, Dunk was sometimes prone to a mistake, but has now seemed to have eliminated that from his game to ensure that he is one of the best defenders outside the top six.
Pace for the Seagulls effective
Pace and power for the Seagulls on the break has been a major factor in Brighton’s good form of late. Jurgen Locadia has been in good form and was the biggest threat for the defence of Liverpool yesterday, and was wrongly given offside in the first half when well placed to have a strike at goal.
Florin Andone and Anthony Knockaert’s entrance in the second half gave Hughton’s side a bit more edge with their pace and direct running, but it wasn’t to be for the Seagulls as they fell their second defeat to the league leaders of the season.
Brighton now face an away trip to Manchester United, who are on the back of six victories in a row, which underlines the difficult task in front of the Seagulls.
Liverpool take on Crystal Palace, looking to secure back to back victories and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.