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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Jordan Henderson makes Mohamed Salah intervention as Liverpool winger prompts fume

Liverpool continued their title challenge by grinding out an impressive victory at Brighton.

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah were on target as the Reds earned a 2-0 win against the Seagulls in Saturday's early kick-off.

The result means Jurgen Klopp’s side have once again closed the gap on Manchester City to three points at the top of the table with 10 games remaining.

But there was plenty that went unnoticed or under the radar during the 90 minutes at the AMEX Stadium.

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Henderson steps up

Never let it be said Jordan Henderson shirks his responsibilities as Liverpool captain.

Even in the most unexpected of ways, the midfielder can be seen as leading by example - even when the Reds have been awarded a penalty.

As Salah prepared to step up shortly after the hour, Henderson could be spotted standing directly behind his team-mate with his back to him - essentially acting as a bodyguard to prevent any pesky opponents attempting to distract the Egyptian.

It clearly worked as Salah rattled in his 20th Premier League goal of the campaign.

*Let us know your player ratings here

Busy Diaz

Whether it was scoring a goal, nearly having his head taken off or receiving an impromptu hug from his manager, it was a busy afternoon for Luis Diaz.

The Colombian, though, couldn't avoid the wrath of Klopp.

He'd already been given a roasting by the touchline first half when, towards the end, he prompted wild gesticulation from his new boss after spurning a chance on a counter-attack with Diogo Jota free in the area.

Probably just as well Diaz's English isn't so great at the moment, really.

Seagulls squawking

The locals were becoming increasingly restless with referee Mike Dean and his fellow officials on Saturday.

And having thought their team on the receiving end of some iffy calls during the second half, culminating with the award of Liverpool's penalty, the Brighton supporters had seen quite enough.

"2-0 to the referee!" they chanted, although in fairness they didn't have the benefit of television replays which indicated Yves Bissouma's handball was pretty obvious.

Then there was, of course, the failure to send off Robert Sanchez for taking out Luis Diaz - although, to be fair, not even a million viewings would have allowed chronically hapless VAR Stuart Attwell to spot such an obvious red-card offence.

Damp Elliott

With the sky blue, the sun shining and very little breeze, conditions were perfect after a long winter of chilly and windy climes.

But that didn't stop Harvey Elliott getting caught in a shower.

Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas were the last two Liverpool players to leave the field following the pre-match warm-up when the touchline sprinklers burst into operation.

Tsimikas neatly sidestepped his nearby stream. His young colleague, though, wasn't quite so lucky.

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