Liverpool vs Brighton and Hove Albion. Premier League.
AnfieldAttendance60,061.
Report and free match highlights as Brighton stole the lead through Danny Welbeck in opening 87 seconds; Luis Diaz found first-half reply before Mo Salah scored winner; Liverpool edge out in front in Premier League title race after Man City vs Arsenal ended in a goalless draw
Sunday 31 March 2024 21:16, UK
Jurgen Klopp registered his 300th win in charge of Liverpool with an enthralling 2-1 victory over Roberto de Zerbi's Brighton to send them top of the Premier League.
Ahead of Manchester City's meeting with Arsenal, which ended in a goalless draw, the Reds had the chance to succeed both fellow title challengers at the summit, but did not enjoy the start they envisaged after falling behind within 87 seconds at Anfield.
Plucky Brighton are deliberately bold in De Zerbi's mould, as proved by Simon Adingra, who flew down the left wing from kick off and fizzed a ball centrally towards Danny Welbeck. The forward benefitted from a ricochet off Pascal Gross, but there was no luck in the finish, as he lashed an instinctive volley inside the far post.
But Liverpool, embroiled in an intriguing three-way title hunt, were not to be denied. Luis Diaz found a response in the 27th minute to halt Brighton's early momentum, capitalising on some clumsy Joel Veltman defending to pounce from close range and steer the ball emphatically beyond Bart Verbruggen.
That began Liverpool's impressive road to recovery, as they abandoned their full-throttle first-half approach in favour of more measured, patient build up. It worked. Alexis Mac Allister, at the heart of everything good for the hosts against his former club, threaded a devilish pass through to Mo Salah in the 65th minute and the Egyptian struck the decisive blow.
"Mac Allister is such a smart footballer," Roy Keane reflected on Super Sunday. "I'm hugely impressed with him. Lovely first touch from Salah for the goal. It's sexy football."
Chances came and went to kill the game dead, particularly for misfiring Salah, who attempted a record 12 shots (his most in a single game), but a one-goal margin of victory will satisfy Klopp as Liverpool crucially hold pace to go top.
The Reds edge out in front on 67 points, with Arsenal two points adrift and Man City three behind.
Liverpool kick-started the title run-in by sending a message to rivals Man City and Arsenal. They mean business.
This was the seventh time they have come from behind to win in a league game this season - a club record.
A less desirable record concerned Salah, of all people, after his 12 attempts only yielded one goal, but who cares about carelessness when you have scored the all-important decider?
Rather than benefit from not playing for Egypt during the international break, Salah appeared to have suffered from it as it took him almost an hour to unearth his usual sharpness.
It was his sloppy pass which allowed Brighton to take a shock lead inside 90 seconds through Welbeck, after all.
But, having squandered a number of opportunities in both halves, Salah delivered when it mattered most, guiding home from Mac Allister's delicious through ball for his 22nd strike of the campaign.
Diaz also played his part, while the otherwise under-employed Caoimhin Kelleher pulled off a vital low save to keep out Lewis Dunk's header as Brighton sensed their chance to snatch a draw after Liverpool failed to extend their lead.
Verbruggen produced an even better stop to deny Salah late on as the hosts continued to push for the goal which would have eased the growing tension inside an anxious Anfield.
Nevertheless, Klopp's charges once again demonstrated their title credentials and can be pleased with a productive afternoon's work. They sit top with nine to go.
"We didn't start how we wanted but it was an amazing game against a team I know well. The mentality of the boys is amazing," the brilliant Mac Allister, who epitomised Liverpool's immense spirit, said at the final whistle.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "We dominated in a lot of moments in a way we never have before against Brighton. We played good football and caused problems.
"We cannot calm them down for whole 90 minutes, that's clear. But in so many moments we did really well after a super tricky start. We were not in a rush in our build up, but in our finishing were in a rush.
"We had a lot of moments, but not with real quality. I told the boys at half-time, we have to do a couple of things: high press was really good, and we had to play in similar spaces, but we had to calm down.
"Thankfully, we did that maybe one or two times. In the end I'm really happy with the way we played today. It's all about reacting and if I've learnt something this year it's that we can do these things [come from behind]."
Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi: "We are not disappointed, we are happy for the performance. We are sad for the result but I'm really pleased with the performance.
"Playing like this at Anfield, against one of the best teams in the Premier League is an honour. We showed we are able to compete for a European position.
"We were unlucky in the first goal we conceded. It was a confusing situation. We can suffer against Liverpool, we conceded a lot of shots, but in the end we could have scored in the last 10 minutes. I can't say more for my players."
De Zerbi also addressed a question over his Brighton future amid links to the Liverpool job, which will become vacant this summer: "I have another two years of contract and to work on next season in Brighton. I don't need to extend another year or another two years on the contract. I can stay, I can work in Brighton with the extension, without the extension, nothing change."
Liverpool host Sheffield United on Wednesday night at Anfield, with kick-off at 7.30pm. Attention then turns to a trip to Manchester United at Old Trafford next Sunday, with kick-off at 3.30pm.
Brighton travel to Brentford on Wednesday evening for a 7.30pm kick-off, before facing another title rival in Arsenal next Saturday, live on Sky Sports with kick-off at 5.30pm.
