Brighton beat Liverpool 3-0 at Amex to go seventh in Premier League. Hosts missed chances and had penalty overturned in first half. Solly March scored twice and Danny Welbeck added another in second period to move Brighton within five points of top four.
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| Image: Solly March celebrates his first goal against Liverpool |
Brighton produced a blistering second-half performance to thump Liverpool 3-0 at the Amex and move above their hapless visitors in the Premier League.
Liverpool arrived on the south coast knowing they could find themselves as low as ninth in the table - and 10 points off the top four - if results went against them this weekend.
That ought to have been enough to motivate Jurgen Klopp’s side as they pursue Champions League football next season, but they were outplayed by Brighton from the first whistle.
Roberto De Zerbi’s impressive outfit were wasteful in the first half but found their range after half-time as Solly March’s double (46, 53) and Danny Welbeck’s volley (81) secured the points on a truly memorable afternoon for the club.
Liverpool’s only chance of the first half came when Robert Sanchez twice denied Mohamed Salah at his near post, and opportunities continued to be few and far between for the visitors in the second period before Welbeck ended the contest with a classy finish, looping the ball over Gomez's head before finishing past Alisson.
Cody Gakpo - making his first Premier League start - was denied at close range by Sanchez and Harvey Elliott dragged a decent opening wide, but most of Liverpool’s afternoon was spent running towards their own goal as Brighton ran rings around Klopp’s beleaguered players.
Liverpool are as bad defensively as anyone in the Premier League right now. Fortunately they have the best keeper which means they aren’t further down the table. #BHALIV
Why were the Liverpool centre-backs so busy? Well, it stemmed from the Liverpool midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago, the latter playing in a very odd role just off the two strikers that did not suit him.
Brighton duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo made the Liverpool trio look like they should consider playing in a veterans' league. The midfield is the heart of a Jurgen Klopp team - when it malfunctions, like it is doing right now, the forward line and backline suffer. This Liverpool team are not only malfunctioning but threatening to spin out of control.
Player ratings
Brighton: Sanchez (7), Gross (7), Dunk (7), Colwill (7), Estupinan (7), Caicedo (7), Mac Allister (8), March (9), Lallana (7), Mitoma (8), Ferguson (7).
Subs: Welbeck (7), Veltman (7), Sarmiento (n/a), Webster (n/a), Lamptey (n/a).
Liverpool: Alisson (6), Alexander-Arnold (3), Matip (4), Konate (5), Robertson (5), Henderson (5), Fabinho (6), Thiago (6), Salah (6), Gakpo (5), Oxlade-Chamberlain (5).
Subs: Keita (6), Doak (6), Elliott (6), Gomez (6).
Player of the match: Solly March
Klopp accepts responsibility:
Klopp accepted responsibility for Liverpool's defeat, saying his decision to deploy a midfield diamond and push Alexander-Arnold higher than the rest of the back four failed to pay dividends.
"We tried to help the boys with slightly different organisation," explained Klopp. "We had moments where it worked well and we put them under pressure, but we lose the ball much too easy, so we never got something going.
"Brighton was better throughout the whole 96, 97 minutes. It was clear that one team was ready to play a really good game, and one team had to fight with themselves.
"The problems are the same - we don’t win the key moments, we don’t win the challenges and we lose the ball too easy.
"It’s fully my responsibility with a different formation and it didn’t work out. The outcome was horrible to watch.
"It’s my job to make the right line-up, to set up the right tactics. I’m not sure if it’s because the game is still a few minutes ago but I can’t remember a worse game. I honestly can’t. Not only Liverpool.
"That’s my responsibility. That makes it a really low point."
Team news
Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister made his first Premier League start since the World Cup, while Adam Lallana started against his former club.
Leandro Trossard was left out of the Brighton squad after Roberto De Zerbi publicly questioned his attitude on Friday, but Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck made a Premier League squad for the first time since the World Cup
Darwin Nunez missed out on the Liverpool squad through injury, with Cody Gakpo starting in what was his first Premier League appearance, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was also named in the XI.
The hosts also had a penalty for a foul by Alisson on March overturned after the winger was found to be offside, but they got the goal they deserved shortly after the break.
Joel Matip gave away possession deep in his own half, allowing Mitoma to set up March for a tap in, and he doubled his tally just seven minutes later with a cracking strike from the edge of the area that left Alisson with no chance.
What's next?
Brighton's next game is away to Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.
Liverpool's next outing is an FA Cup third-round replay at Wolves on Tuesday - kick-off 7.45pm.
Jurgen Klopp's side then host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday - kick-off 12.30pm.
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