A superb finish from an otherwise under-par Mo Salah, secured a vital three points, as Liverpool came from behind, again, to go top of the Premier League. Having fallen behind after just 87 seconds, an equaliser from Luis Diaz restored parity, before man of the match, Mac Allister, found Salah inside the penalty box in front of the Kop.
Liverpool started sloppily once more, and an expectant Anfield fell near silent when a superb strike from Danny Wellbeck put the Seagulls in front. Brighton, who impressed throughout but particularly in the first half, were causing both Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah real problems down Liverpool’s right flank, but just as a second Brighton goal looked a real possibility, Diaz struck for the hosts.
The Colombian, on a hot streak of form, reacted the quickest as the visitors failed to clear a corner properly. A cute, close-range finish, finding the net. Brighton protested, claiming off-side, but the goal stood. Salah, by this point, had already missed some good chances to peg back Brighton and, with Bradley marauding down the right, often sliding in the Egyptian, further opportunities came and went as Liverpool began to dominate possession.
Having gone in all square at the break, the second half didn’t quite have the pace of a pulsating opening 45 minutes. Liverpool continued to dominate but, with just under thirty minutes left, Brighton had largely contained Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Mac Allister, again superb, had been probing all afternoon and looked the man most likely to unlock a disciplined Brighton defence. So it proved. Dominik Szoboszlai found the World Cup winner on the edge of the box and the summer signing slid in the Egyptian with a cute five-yard pass. Salah was never going to keep missing and he found the corner of the net with the sort of calm assured finish that we’ve come to expect.
At 2-1, the game was still finely balanced. It remained so, despite Diaz again finding the net. A defence-splitting pass from Salah was adjudged to have been delivered a split second too late, with the Colombian flagged for off-side. The third goal, which looked imminent, never arrived and Brighton continued to offer a threat, however sporadically. With eight minutes of added time, the Anfield atmosphere became a little anxious and the referee, who’d not been shy in issuing some baffling yellow cards, played almost fifty55five minutes before eventually blowing his whistle.
So Liverpool once again got over the line, despite falling behind. Having now secured more points than any other Premier League team from such a position, such resilience will surely stand them in good stead as ‘squeaky bum’ time approaches. Klopp though, will be impressing on his players that such a sloppy start against Sheffield United on Thursday would be far from ideal. Man City went on to play out a goalless draw with Arsenal in the later game – a result welcomed by us all!
