Sam Dalling was at the Amex this lunchtime, and his report has landed. Here it is! Thanks for reading this MBM.
Graham Potter’s turn to talk to BT Sport. “We started really well, the better team. The goal took the wind out of our sails, which is not so surprising given the run we’re on, and that Liverpool are Liverpool. But credit to the boys, they stuck in there, and we had a couple of moments that didn’t go our way. The penalty is what it is. Looking at Yves’ reaction, it was a penalty. I thought we finished the game really strong and created some chances. I think [the Sanchez-Diaz incident] was an accidental one. The quality of pass and the quality of the run was just too good for him. We’re certainly not a happy camp, nobody wants to lose football matches, but we’ve got 33 points and we want to finish the season as strongly as we can. We need to focus on the next game, get some points, and get some wins. We have to do better, but perspective means we’re not too far away from a good points tally, but we need to make that happen, and the only way to do that is to focus on the next game.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT. “We were good. We knew Brighton is a really good team who can cause problems, and that’s what we saw in the game. We need to get used to opponents who try to adapt a lot to us, and cause us problems in areas they think they can hurt us. We played the extra pass and switched side to side, and were really strong. We scored a great goal and had some really good moments but missed the final pass. The last period I would like to control more, but it’s an intense period for the boys. It was expected to be a very difficult game, and I’m really happy with big parts of the performance and even more so with the result. The goal was spectacular and brave, and the right thing to do as well.” He refuses to be drawn on whether Robert Sanchez should have been sent off, reports that Mohamed Salah is “not 100 percent” but “he thinks it is not serious”, and says it’s “not our job” to talk about a title race. “We just want to win as many football games as possible.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson speaks to BT. “It’s always pleasing to come away from home and get the three points. Brighton are a good footballing side. I know they’ve lost the last few but they’re always dangerous. Good technical players, and they’ve troubled us at times over the last couple of years. So it was a big game for us today, and I felt we delivered. We’re delighted. Another big performance from Luis Diaz. The keeper was a little bit late but Luiz has done so well to get there first, and it was a great ball from Joel. Overall we are very pleased. We’re concentrating on ourselves, and the focus is always the next game, and to give everything in that game, and there’s no reason for us to change that now. We know we have to work and improve and be better. You can never relax.”
A deserved victory for Liverpool on the whole, though Brighton started brightly and finished the game strongly. A warm embrace between Jurgen Klopp and Graham Potter at the end, the mutual respect evident ... and a friendly hug from a grinning Klopp for Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez, too. No hard feelings over the questionable challenge on Luis Diaz in the first half. The title race is very much still alive. Over to Manchester City at Crystal Palace on Monday evening.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 28 | 50 | 69 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 28 | 53 | 66 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 27 | 37 | 56 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 25 | 12 | 48 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 28 | 7 | 47 |
FULL TIME: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Liverpool
Brighton’s losing run stretches to five games, while Liverpool close the gap at the top to three points. The man of the match, awarded by Glenn Hoddle on BT Sport: Luis Diaz.
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90 min +4: Alexander-Arnold doesn’t rush to take it. Eventually it comes in ... and flies straight out for a goal kick.
90 min +3: March bustles down the left and gets as far as the edge of the six-yard box before shooting from a tight angle. Alisson blocks out for a corner, then claims Gross’s set piece. He sets Diaz off on the counter down the left. Diaz crosses, and the ball’s deflected out for a corner.
90 min +2: Lamptey curls a low pass in from the right. Trossard nearly gets on the end of it, just inside the Liverpool box, but Alisson is off his line quickly to smother at his feet.
90 min +1: Fabinho bowls Mac Allister to the floor. Just a free kick, but having already been booked, the Liverpool midfielder wants to watch himself. “The Ultimate Warrior finished wrestling in 1996 and the WWF changed to WWE in 2002,” writes Ronan Heffernan. “Seems fair to say WWF’s Ultimate Warrior, no?”
90 min: From the second corner, Liverpool break quickly. Diaz is clear down the left. He draws the keeper and looks to roll across for Jota, but Sanchez blocks superbly. There will be five additional minutes.
89 min: Brighton play the corner short, then fling it in. Welbeck whips a first-time shot goalwards from point-blank range. It’s heading in, but Alisson makes a superb reaction save, tipping over the bar.
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88 min: March drives at Matip down the left. He wins a corner. The ball came off Matip’s elbow, and March asks the penalty question, but doesn’t get the answer he wants.
86 min: Milner comes on for Henderson.
85 min: Trossard crosses from the right. March heads across goal, forcing Van Dijk to concede a corner. Dunk and Jota collide when it’s sent in. Brighton claim a penalty but there was nothing there to interest the ref.
84 min: Fabinho is booked for a cynical foul on Maupay in the midfield.
83 min: Henderson wins a ball in midfield and Liverpool suddenly have a four on three. He then inexplicably clanks a pass behind Diaz to his left and straight out of play. That was abysmal, and Klopp is beside himself with anger.
81 min: Liverpool knock it around the back. Alisson passes long, and in doing so, is clattered by Maupay. The Brighton striker goes into the book.
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80 min: Another corner for Brighton down the left. Take two for Gross. He sends this one even longer, and straight out for a goal kick.
79 min: Gross’s corner travels all the way through the box to Alexander-Arnold, who tries to release Diaz down the left with a long pass. Fortunately for Brighton, Lamptey, the one man in their team capable of giving Diaz a foot race, is over to cover.
78 min: March battles with Alexander-Arnold down the left and eventually wins a corner. Gross will take this one.
77 min: This game is fizzling out a little bit. “Re Ciaran, I envy him,” begins Peter Kiernan. “He is in that sweet spot, too young to have Seville as a reference point, just old enough to remember the Ultimate Warrior but too old to know that it’s now the WWE.”
75 min: Mac Allister goes in the book this time, hanging out a leg to bring down an in-flight Jota.
74 min: Diaz brings down Lamptey out on the Brighton right. A chance to whip something into the Liverpool box is then spurned, an intricate game of pinball breaking out, the ball eventually rolling into Alisson’s arms.
72 min: Henderson drives down the middle of the park. Nobody comes to him, so after sizing up options either side, he decides to take the shot on himself. Sanchez claims the resulting dribbler.
71 min: The corner skims off the top of Matip’s head and away.
70 min: A long pass down the right forces Cucurella into the concession of a corner. Alexander-Arnold to take.
69 min: Mane robs Mac Allister, who does his level best to haul him back. He fails to bring his man down and Mane races off. Nothing comes of the attack, but Mane did Mac Allister a favour there. Had he gone down, the Brighton midfielder would surely have been booked.
67 min: Thiago handballs. Free kick. The Brighton fans cheer long and loud in the ironic style. A lot of laughter in the stands. Several jets of steam parp out of Ciaran Boland’s ears.
66 min: Bissouma, on a booking and having conceded the penalty, is hooked for Welbeck. Meanwhile Ciaran Boland writes: “I had to laugh at the irony of Brighton fans singing ‘two-nil to the referee’, especially after their keeper hit Diaz with a clothesline that the WWF’s Ultimate Warrior would have been proud of.”
64 min: Salah goes down and Lierpool aren’t minded to take any risks with him. He walks off to be replaced by Jota, while Thiago comes on for Keita.
62 min: Alisson claims a long ball on the edge of his area. His feet end up outside the box, but he bends his run, holding the ball over the white line, his hands still inside the penalty area. Just. Brighton - and all their fans - are beyond livid, but they’re not getting the decision, and it’s not a matter for VAR.
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GOAL! Brighton 0-2 Liverpool (Salah 61 pen)
Sanchez dives to his left, but Salah blasts down the middle, and his goal drought - such as it was, three games long - is over.
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Penalty for Liverpool
59 min: Diaz dribbles into the box from the left. He can’t get a shot away. The ball breaks back to Keita, who traps then shoots. The ball clanks off Bissouma’s outstretched arm, and the referee points to the spot. It’s obvious enough that VAR takes roughly two seconds to rubber-stamp the decision.
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58 min: Diaz scampers down the inside-left channel at pace and rolls across for Salah, who scuffs a low shot wide right from the edge of the box. You’d have backed him to work Sanchez at the very least.
57 min: Salah slithers into the Brighton box down the inside-right channel and gets a shot away despite being swarmed by defenders. The ball takes a deflection and loops over Sanchez, towards the top-left corner. It twangs off the crossbar and falls near Mane, who retrieves, spins and shoots over in one smooth movement. Salah can’t catch a break right now, having hit both posts against Inter during the week.
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55 min: ... so livid, in fact, that Bissouma goes into the book for throwing the ball away.
54 min: Bissouma wins the ball from Keita in midfield and launches a quick counter. But the whistle goes for a high kick, with Brighton on the front foot and Liverpool light at the back. Brighton are livid.
52 min: Nope, he can’t continue. He trudges off down the tunnel, after his old manager Klopp, looking sad and concerned, offers a consoling word and a pat on the head. That’s a lovely bittersweet moment. Gross comes on for the half-time sub.
51 min: Poor Lallana’s career has been scarred by injury, and now he’s sitting on the turf shaking his head sadly. It looks as though his hamstring has gone, a mere five minutes since coming on.
50 min: It’s just like the first half all over again, with Brighton starting brightly. Lamptey threatens to get the better of Robertson down the right. Not quite, and the resulting throw is flung straight out for a goal kick by Dunk.
48 min: ... although replays show Maupay used his arm while making his barrelling run, and there’s a fair chance VAR would have chalked off a goal. Mind you, given VAR’s performance in the first half ... and on that subject, here’s Rick Harris: “I can only assume that Mike Dean thinks he is refereeing Ukraine v Liverpool and out of solidarity with that beleaguered country he decided the assault on Diaz by Sanchez wasn’t a red card. At the very least the VAR official has to tell the ref to take a look on the pitch side monitor. We seem to be in a situation where the referees are a law unto themselves with no effective control or auditing happening to ensure consistency. Blatant red card and irrelevant if a goal is scored or not.”
46 min: A huge chance for Brighton to equalise! Maupay barges his way down the inside-right channel and rolls across for Trossard, who is alone 12 yards out! Trossard leans back and blazes over. What an opportunity.
Brighton get the second half underway. The hosts have made one change, replacing Alzate for erstwhile Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana.
On BT Sport, Steve McManaman, Peter Crouch and Rio Ferdinand are in lockstep: Sanchez should have been sent packing for his ersatz take on the work of Toni Schumacher. Speaking of strong opinions, here’s Lasse Espe on the 44 min entry which has Klopp calling out Salah for not squaring the ball: “I think you got that one wrong. Klopp was surely pointing out that Salah was pulled down by Bissouma.”
Half-time entertainment. A tasty appetiser ahead of this evening’s main course.
HALF TIME: Brighton 0-1 Liverpool
Nothing much happens in them, and despite Brighton’s bold start, Liverpool deservedly lead at the break. The hosts may consider themselves fortunate to still have 11 men on the pitch, Robert Sanchez having whacked Luis Diaz as the Liverpool man beat him to the ball for the goal. No doubt the internet will offer opinions, but here we are.
45 min: There will be two additional first-half minutes.
44 min: Salah had team-mates in the middle there, and Klopp is not shy in pointing that out. He’s hopping mad. And so is Keith Sanderson: “If Diaz doesn’t score there, Mike Dean WOULD take a look at the monitor and Sanchez would then surely receive a red card for dangerous play. It’s staggering, that after looking at the replay, Stuart Atwell doesn’t see enough to warrant asking Dean to have another look. Do they have to wait until a player is seriously injured? Week after week we have to watch this atrocious ‘officiating’. I also don’t understand why the PGMOL are simply allowed to continue as if nothing is wrong.”
43 min: Lamptey and March busy themselves down the right, the former winning a couple of throws, the latter a corner. Mac Allister takes. Henderson heads clear ... then Robertson lashes a pass down the left for Salah, who battles down the left flank with Bissouma. A shuffle on the edge of the Brighton box gives Salah the advantage, but he can’t find a way past Sanchez at the near post. You’d have expected him to slot home more often than not.
41 min: Alexander-Arnold flicks a cross in from the right for Salah, who steers a header towards the top right. There’s not enough power on it, though, and Sanchez claims without fuss.
39 min: ... but it’s Alexander-Arnold who comes over and takes. A game of head tennis breaks out. The ball drops back to Alexander-Arnold, who slices an ambitious shot miles wide right. Brighton could do with hearing the half-time whistle and a reset.
38 min: Mane is bowled over by March, just to the left of the Brighton box. Robertson stands over this. The box fills with players.
37 min: Liverpool are first to nearly everything right now. Brighton are finding it extremely difficult to retain possession, never mind launch an attack. Those promising first few minutes seem an awfully long time ago right now.
Updated
35 min: Diaz is brought down on the left wing. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Brighton box. Alexander-Arnold dummies. Robertson delivers. Sanchez claims under pressure from Van Dijk. Liverpool are pressing hard for the cushion of a second goal, although much good one of those did them at Anfield earlier in the season, of course.
33 min: Mane spins and flicks the ball over Veltman’s head, a gorgeous bit of skill that earns him the right to shoot from 25 yards. He dribbles an effort towards Sanchez, who claims. He had Salah to his right and Diaz to his left, and could have put either in on goal. Salah is not impressed.
32 min: Liverpool win another corner down the right. Alexander-Arnold curls it into the mixer. Mane wins a header, but doesn’t get any power behind it, and it’s easy pickings for Sanchez.
31 min: Liverpool are in control of this now. Brighton struggling to get a touch. The visitors have enjoyed 75 percent possession during the last five minutes.
29 min: Alexander-Arnold finds Diaz with a sliderule pass down the right. Diaz - OK now after the Sanchez challenge, another way in which the Schumacher-Battiston comparison falls down - flicks first time to Salah, who feeds Henderson. A corner is won, from which Salah blazes over.
Updated
27 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses from the right, finding Robertson on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Robertson attempts to lash home from a tight angle, but no Marco van Basten he. Goal kick.
26 min: Now Brighton have something to moan about, as Van Dijk grabs a handful of Maupay’s shirt on the right-hand edge of the Liverpool penalty box. It would have been a soft penalty, but again, you’ve seen those decisions given.
25 min: A free kick for Liverpool out on the right. Alexander-Arnold whips it towards the far post, where March clears under pressure from a couple of red shirts. The visitors getting on top now.
23 min: To be fair to Sanchez, Liverpool didn’t make a big deal of the challenge, while VAR didn’t even ask referee Mike Dean to take a look at the monitor. Anyway, we play on - as does Diaz, who thankfully isn’t seriously hurt.
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21 min: VAR isn’t interested in punishing Sanchez, who might have got away with one there. On BT, both Glenn Hoddle and Peter Walton compare the challenge to Toni Schumacher’s infamous clatter on Patrick Battiston at the 1982 World Cup. It’s not exactly as bad as that, but Sanchez really clattered into Diaz, hanging out a high leg. You’ve seen players sent off for much less, but the keeper isn’t even booked.
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GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Liverpool (Diaz 19)
A fine goal, this! Matip, quarterbacking from deep, just to the right of the centre circle, curls a lovely ball down the channel to release Diaz, who stoops to head bravely past the outrushing keeper and into the net! A stunning finish, and he’s taken out by Sanchez. A high kick, and VAR is going to take a look.
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18 min: Keita’s loose pass in the midfield is snaffled by Maupay, who rolls a ball down the inside-left channel in the hope of releasing Trossard. There’s too much weight on the pass and Alisson claims. Liverpool counter through Henderson down the right. His cross is cleared by Cucurella, with Diaz and Salah lurking.
16 min: Keita bustles down the middle in his prime Bundesliga style, but Alzate gets something on the ball as he shapes to shoot from the edge of the box.
14 min: Alexander-Arnold and Henderson both have chances to cross the ball from the right wing. Both hit the first man. It’s not quite clicking for Liverpool at the minute.
12 min: Mane has a chance to release Diaz down the left, but plays the ball behind his man and out for a throw. A big chance to carve Brighton open spurned.
10 min: Liverpool are beginning to find their feet after a slow start. Salah sprays a pass wide left for Alexander-Arnold, who crosses, but his rangefinder isn’t warmed up yet.
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9 min: Some space for Salah down the right as Liverpool finally show in attack. He slips a ball infield for Mane, forcing a corner. Robertson’s delivery is cleared by Cucurella. Brighton have enjoyed 58 percent possession so far.
8 min: Trossard has a whack from 20 yards. Straight at Alisson and easy for the keeper. This is a really spirited start by Brighton, and Dean Kinsella is not surprised one jot: “Just three wins in 22 games! That’s shocking. But it doesn’t feel like that. Brighton have dominated many of those games, played the best football and looked the better team. They just don’t seem to be able to get it across the line.”
6 min: Mac Allister spins elegantly in the middle of the park and sprays a pass wide right for March, whose cross is no good. What a trap and spin, though, diddling Fabinho with ease, earning a comparison to Diego Maradona from Glenn Hoddle on BT!
5 min: ... and from that, Brighton come straight back at Liverpool, Maupay romping down the middle and firing a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post. That was troubling Alisson, who might not have got there had it been on target. It was certainly close, put it that way.
4 min: Lamptey crosses from the right. Maupay can’t get his header on target. Goal kick.
3 min: Maupay chests a long pass down and is knocked over by Fabinho. A free kick just left of centre. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Liverpool D, but March’s floated delivery is easily cleared by Mane.
2 min: Mac Allister finds Cucurella down the left. Cucurella wins a corner, but the flag pops up for offside. A nice open start with both teams showing their ambition.
1 min: Liverpool are on the front foot immediately, Diaz with a couple of touches down the left. Keita then clatters into the back of March in the agricultural style. He’s slightly fortunate not to go into the book, but with less than 60 seconds gone, the referee lets it slide.
Liverpool get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. A gesture welcomed all around the stadium with warm applause. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! Brighton in yellow and blue - wearing their change strip in support of Ukraine - and Liverpool in red. A lovely sight on a lovely spring day on the south coast. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
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Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT. “We have parts where we didn’t like what we did against Inter. Other parts were very good. It’s not always easy showing a reaction. It’s just about finding the right mindset for the next opponent, and that’s Brighton, and that’s pretty challenging. We can have a defending problem against Brighton if we are not compact, they are too good a football team. But if we are compact we have a good chance to cause them problems. It’s a really complex performance needed. Brighton are good, really good. They are very flexible. Graham uses the time during the week properly, you can see that on the pitch. It’s difficult but doable.”
Graham Potter, talking to BT Sport, reflects on Brighton’s three-game unbeaten run against Liverpool. “It gives us a little bit of confidence, a bit of belief in the past. But we also know that it doesn’t count for too much, you have to start again and earn the right to play. If you’re not perfect, it’s very difficult, they’ve got world-class players, so we’re under no illusion. But we’ve also shown we can compete on our day, and we’ll have to do that again. Sometimes you have to go through periods of pain in the season, which is what we’re doing now, and we’ve got a nice game to try to change that fortune around. We will be positive, be aggressive, and do our best.”
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A reminder of how things stand at the moment, and what’s up for grabs. A win would spring Brighton into the top half of the table at the expense of south-coast neighbours Southampton, while three points for Liverpool would bat the title-race pressure back to Manchester City, who travel to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 28 | 50 | 69 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 27 | 51 | 63 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 27 | 37 | 56 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 25 | 12 | 48 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 28 | 7 | 47 |
| 6 | West Ham | 28 | 11 | 45 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 26 | 8 | 45 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | 28 | 5 | 43 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 27 | 3 | 36 |
| 10 | Southampton | 28 | -8 | 35 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 1 | 33 |
| 12 | Leicester | 25 | -3 | 33 |
| 13 | Brighton | 27 | -6 | 33 |
| 14 | Newcastle | 27 | -15 | 31 |
| 15 | Brentford | 28 | -15 | 27 |
| 16 | Leeds | 28 | -35 | 23 |
| 17 | Everton | 25 | -18 | 22 |
| 18 | Burnley | 26 | -14 | 21 |
| 19 | Watford | 28 | -27 | 19 |
| 20 | Norwich | 28 | -44 | 17 |
Brighton & Hove Albion make four changes to the team sent out for the 2-1 defeat by Newcastle United. Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister, Solly March and Neal Maupay replace Pascal Gross, Jakub Moder, Danny Welbeck and Shane Duffy.
Liverpool make three changes to the XI named for the 1-0 home defeat to Internazionale. Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Luis Diaz come in for Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota.
The teams
Brighton & Hove Albion: Sanchez, Veltman, Dunk, Cucurella, Lamptey, Alzate, Bissouma, Mac Allister, March, Maupay, Trossard.
Subs: Mwepu, Gross, Lallana, Moder, Welbeck, Steele, Duffy, McGill, Leonard.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Keita, Salah, Mane, Diaz.
Subs: Thiago, Milner, Firmino, Gomez, Jones, Jota, Tsimikas, Kelleher, Elliott.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).
Preamble
Making forensic use of your well-thumbed form guide, you’d surely peg this as an away win. Liverpool have won their last seven straight in the Premier League, as they attempt to keep leaders Manchester City honest and give us all a title race. Brighton on the other hand have lost their last four in a row, and have only won three of their last 22. The fine early-season form has long deserted Graham Potter’s side, though at least it’s kept them insulated from the relegation battle.
But nothing’s quite as plain as it seems. One of Brighton’s best results of the season came at Anfield in October, when they came back from two down through Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard to earn a deserved 2-2 draw. They also won at Anfield last season, Steven Alzate with the only goal, having held Liverpool at the Amex a couple of months earlier, Pascal Gross equalising in the final minute with a penalty. So Liverpool are without a win in three against Brighton, who have long had form for giving the Reds a game, as anyone old enough to remember those back-to-back FA Cup shocks in the mid 1980s will attest.
Liverpool are desperate for three points that would keep Manchester City within striking distance. Brighton could do with them to arrest their slide and plump up the cushion between themselves and the relegation strugglers. Both like to play football. All set up to be a cracker, then. Kick off is at 12.30pm GMT. It’s on!
