LIVERPOOL 2 – 0 BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
Liverpool: Ekitiké 1’, 60’
Pre-Match
Mohamed Salah is on the bench, so the chat seemingly went…okay. I find myself agreeing with just about everyone who made comments in The Guardian this week about this saga, effectively pointing out that Salah misjudged the mood and what would be most helpful for the team. Andrew Beasley and Josh Williams went a bit further and pointed out that Salah’s output has been rather limited, and thus trying different personnel to seek better results was a logical coaching decision rather than an attempt to scapegoat
the Egyptian (even if we can all sympathize with both his desire to be involved and potential anxieties in this part of his career).
With all that in mind, Salah starting on the bench in order to get all of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, and especially Dominik Szoboszlai on the pitch makes a lot of sense. I watched the Brighton v Aston Villa game from last weekend while on the treadmill yesterday and was absolutely taken by both teams’ work rates. Liverpool need grafters, and Salah is perhaps not his best if he has to expend a lot of energy in all parts of the game. For his part, Salah hasn’t given the cameras any gossip fodder, among the less-intense faces on the bench in the pre-match carry-on.
Beyond all the noise, I have to admit that I’m relatively excited to see this attacking match-up, with some concerns about the strength of the attack on the right side. Conor Bradley is unavailable through suspension (a fact I had forgotten! Apologies!). Joe Gomez is someone you have complete confidence in, but he doesn’t necessarily scare defenses going forward.
Here goes nothing: a match-up between two sides who have been conceding more than they like — and a Liverpool side who still haven’t quite been attacking on all cylinders.
First Half
First of all, I am so sorry Joseph Gomez: I was familiar with your game but apparently continue to underestimate you. What an assist that was. Confident communication to get Szoboszlai to leave it and a pinpoint-accurate header? What a way to destroy the “Liverpool don’t score in the first half” alarms. (He also did a bit of dribbling past a defender on around the 15-minute mark that should have set up Hugo Ekitiké again, making my initial concerns look even more foolish.)
That first-minute goal came directly from the work-rate of the entire side, as the clearance to Joe Gomez was due to a defender feeling that he had to just put it anywhere away as a result of the intensity on the left side of the pitch — Miloš Kerkez started this by taking a quick throw-in and not allowing Brighton a second to breathe and recover their structure. Obviously also credit to Hugo Ekitiké, both for occupying a great area and retaining his clinical finishing skills. What a take.
Second of all, Alisson Becker, the man that you are: Brighton, as expected, were not deflated by conceding early, and maintained a look of danger. Just after the 10-minute mark Alisson made an alert 1v1 save that is exactly the kind of situation you want him between the sticks for. No hesitation, and out quickly enough to make himself very, very big. A more eventful and energetic opening 20 minutes than we’ve seen in some time. (It’s worth noting that Ibrahima Konaté, too, had a couple of very crucial blocks, all the more important to mention since recent showings have seen him step off or make errors in key moments.
Halfway into the first half we get the unfortunately inevitable Joe Gomez muscle injury, which is a real shame given his bright start on both sides of the ball. Despite all the outside noise, a rousing bit of support for oncoming Mohamed Salah is exactly what you’d expect at Anfield, and Szoboszlai is once again tasked with the auxiliary right back role. Immediately after coming on Salah very nearly sets up a selfless second goal: perhaps it was a very fruitful chat between man and manager. Whatever happened, it appears to have done what seemingly nothing else could, as Liverpool look to be on the same wavelength, and look a real and scary threat going forward. It’s been a long time since the Reds have consistently made defenders chase ghosts like they have done in the opening 30 minutes today.
Though there was a lot of flash in the first half, the great forward play was undergirded by an excellent level of graft. Liverpool have not been averse to effort thus far this season, but here they were bolstered by simply not making it harder on themselves, by knowing where their teammates would be, and by tirelessly going after second balls. Brighton are a hard-working side, and it was brilliant to see a Liverpool team willing to out-work their opposition rather than being quick on the draw to feel sorry for themselves.
Second Half
While the second half started similarly to the first 45 minutes, the Reds were very, very lucky to not see it go 1-1 after five minutes, as Diego Gómez slid in narrowly wide on a ball just out of Konaté’s reach. There have been some sloppy turnovers from Liverpool to start the half, and the Reds will want to get a handle on things before they make it too hard for themselves. Another very narrow miss the other side of the Liverpool goal five minutes later hammers home the feeling that Liverpool might well be getting very lucky.
The first half was characterized by an approach toward possession and press that worked to smother Brighton, and to start the second half the Seagulls were allowed a bit more breathing room (and should probably have got their reward for it).
Liverpool did get out of the opening period unscathed, as a very dangerous counter attack led by Ekitiké’s sublime dribbling became a Salah assist to the Frenchman off the ensuing corner. Salah’s corner looked a great ball going into the box, and a completely unmarked Ekitiké did the decent thing and made it 2-0.
The challenges did not subside, however, as the tricky Kaoru Mitoma joined the match and almost immediately got a goal back for Brighton — seeming to injure key man Dominik Szoboszlai in the process. The Hungarian down in pain was a real heart-in-mouth moment, as Liverpool are only where they are this season (rather than far worse off) due to his efforts. Szoboszlai was able to jog lightly on his ankle almost immediately, and did come back on, but remains a fitness question. Let’s hope for a clip and a bruise rather than a slight sprain, shall we?
Twenty minutes here feels like an eternity. We know from Brighton’s last two matches that they are willing to fight until the final whistle. This stress becomes another injury fear as Hugo Ekitiké feels something in his thigh at 75’, but carries on until the planned change for Alexander Isak — who is already ready — can come on. Meanwhile, Brighton put another chance off target (though it is worth noting that none of their misses have been without tight Liverpool pressure).
Isak does indeed replace Ekitiké, who goes to the bench rather than the tunnel, and Andy Robertson comes on for Florian Wirtz, who had quite a bright afternoon and was involved in almost every good thing Liverpool did in attack. As we enter the final 10 minutes Federico Chiesa joins the party, replacing Dominik Szoboszlai, who seemed unbothered (thankfully) by his earlier knock. To the crowd’s delight, James Milner comes on for Brighton, and was greeted on the touchline by a classy and pervasive round of applause in thanks for his years of service on Merseyside.
The closing phases were defined by off-target chances by both sides, with Salah’s perhaps the highlight as the Egyptian fluffed an effort Anfield would have preferred he buried — any excuse to sing Federico Chiesa’s song. Salah, who was decent in starting counter attacks from the edge of the Liverpool area throughout the match, subsequently slightly mis-hits a pass in the final minutes that could have seen either Andy Robertson or Virgil Van Dijk make it 3-0 at the death. Unlucky.
Final Thoughts
A clean sheet against a high-scoring team was something well and truly needed, as was a deserved win.
The annoying thing is really that this level of performance was always in this Liverpool side, as the team’s struggles have seemed to me to be more complicated (and self-inflicted) than the available talent suggested. The Reds did ride their luck on Brighton misses, particularly early in the second half, but Brighton, too, were a bit lucky to see Liverpool put some chances off target that really should have challenged Bart Verbruggen.
Two things can be true at once: the Reds very much rode their luck in specific moments, but also put in a very good team performance and deserved to walk out winners. And goodness knows we’ve seen some Liverpool performances where seemingly nothing would go on target, too.
Liverpool climb up the table. Bit by bit. Slow and steady. There’s ground to make up.
