Here’s Will Unwin’s report from Anfield. With attention having switched to the Etihad, I will now take my leave. Bye!
Liverpool had spent 65 minutes fighting for every inch on the pitch against a determined Brighton but then a perfect first-time pass from Alexis Mac Allister found Mohamed Salah in yards of space. The forward soon had his arms outstretched as he and Anfield breathed a collective sigh of relief.
In a tight title race, being faultless in their final five home games looks like being a prerequisite if Liverpool are to lift the Premier League trophy in May. Few will give them a tougher time than Brighton as Roberto De Zerbi did his utmost to show he has the tactical nous to be Jürgen Klopp’s successor. Danny Welbeck silenced Anfield after 87 seconds but Brighton rarely left their half afterwards and the Liverpool roar returned thanks to Luis Díaz and Salah.
Much more here:
Rob Smyth is your man for Manchester City v Arsenal, and his liveblog is here:
Alexis Mac Allister, who was superb, talks to Sky as he collects his man-of-the-match award:
We didn’t start as we wanted, but it was an amazing game. We played against an unbelievable team, I know them very well, I know what they can do. I would rather not concede so early, but the mentality of the boys is amazing. Today we showed it again.
[Mo} has been asking for passes and assists from me during the week. Second half he scored. That’s the mentality he shows, because in the first half he missed a couple but in the second half he showed his quality.
If I get home in time I’ll watch the City game, because I like to watch football and this is a great football match.
Interesting statistics:
12: Mo Salah had 11 shots in today’s game, the most he has had in a league match for Liverpool.
26: Liverpool have now won 26 points from losing position in this season’s Premier League. This is a big number.
The top of the table now looks like this:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 29 | 40 | 67 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 28 | 46 | 64 |
| 3 | Man City | 28 | 35 | 63 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 20 | 59 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 18 | 56 |
Final score: Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
90+7 mins: Liverpool win the ball back and slowly move forward, taking no risks and no hurry. Eventually the referee ends it!
90+6 mins: Into the final 30 seconds of this game. Brighton have the ball. Whistles ring out.
90+5 mins: Salah leads a break, but his pass to Elliott is rubbish. Then Liverpool win the ball back and it’s worked again to Salah, but he shoots wide!
90+4 mins: Gakpo gives Veltman’s shirt a tug. Yellow card. Tension.
90+4 mins: Gravenberch comes on for Szoboszlai.
90+3 mins: From wide to the right of goal Welbeck slams a shot into the side netting. Various Liverpool players tell various other Liverpool players off for allowing it to happen.
90+3 mins: Liverpool find themselves in a promising position but Mac Allister’s pass is a bit too strong for Elliott, and then his pass is a bit too strong for Szoboszlai, and the moment passes.
90+2 mins: A lovely turn in the Liverpool half from *check notes* Dunk, but the ball runs to Van Dijk and he hammers clear.
90+1 mins: There will be six minutes of stoppage time.
90 mins: Sensational save! Elliott’s disappointing pull-back sometimes squirms through to Salah, whose shot looked destined to go in at the far post but somehow Verbruggen gets a glove in the way!
90 mins: Salah tries to wriggle past four defenders on halfway, when he has passing options, and can’t manage it.
88 mins: Endo pulls back Van Hecke, and he goes in the book. Liverpool bring Gakpo on for Luis Diaz.
87 mins: A third of a chance (approximately) for Lallana, whose shot squirms just wide. Anfield is a nervous place right now.
86 mins: Some scrappy, careless defending from Liverpool, who play Quansah into trouble and finally see Kelleher claim the ball.
83 mins: Liverpool have a corner, and Elliott’s first touch is to head the ball towards the far post, and Ferguson’s is to stop it and clear!
83 mins: A double substitution for Brighton, who take off Moder and Adingra and bring on Lallana and Ferguson.
82 mins: There’s still time for a fourth goal, and with Brighton looking for an equaliser Liverpool are finding more space on the counter. Luis Diaz’s shot deflects wide, and Harvey Elliott comes on to replace Nunez.
82 mins: From the corner Dunk wins another header, but Kelleher beats Welbeck to the ball.
81 mins: Save! Now Dunk’s in action at the other end, heading goalwards from a free kick but Kelleher turns it round the post!
80 mins: Brighton have a spell of pressure, which almost inevitably ends with a dangerous Liverpool break. Szoboszlai thumps the ball forward, but Lewis Dunk comes across to cut off Luis Diaz’s run as he looked to head clear.
77 mins: Though it hasn’t got much attention, there is another game on after this one. Here are the teams for that one:
Man City: Ortega, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Kovacic, Foden, Haaland. Subs: Stones, Grealish, Doku, Alvarez, Gomez, Matheus Luiz, Carson, Bobb, Lewis.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Gabriel Jesus. Subs: Ramsdale, Partey, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira, Zinchenko.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
75 mins: Brighton win a corner and from it Liverpool break, Luis Diaz passes to Salah but it’s slightly underhit, and the Egyptian has to shoot from the edge of the area and doesn’t do it very well, spearing the ball straight at the keeper.
72 mins: The referee played a fine advantage in the build-up to that non-goal, but he has since gone back to Van Hecke, the guilty party, and shown him a yellow card.
72 mins: It is offside, by the tightest of margins! Salah’s pass deserved a goal, really, but there’s no points for artistic merit in this game.
Key event
71 mins: Liverpool have the ball in the net, but the flag is up! The move starts when Welbeck slips while in possession, and ends with Salah sliding a wonderfull pass through to Luis Diaz, whose shot squirms through the keeper’s legs. Over to VAR – this looks close!
Updated
69 mins: Szoboszlai’s one-man press nearly earns a reward when Verbruggen slips, but he recovers to hoof the ball into touch. Brighton bring Buonanotte on for Lamptey.
68 mins: A corner kick is delayed while the referee deals with the three spare balls which are lying behind Brighton’s goal and distracting him.
65 mins: Szoboszlai zings a pass infield from the right to Mac Allister, and he finds an excellent pass to Salah, running infield from the right wing, and this time he has space to control before sidefooting past Verbruggen!
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Brighton (Salah, 65 mins)
Finally Mo Salah finds some space, and a finish!
Updated
64 mins: Brighton are not keeping the ball well, but still they’re very hard to break down. Nunez shoots straight at the keeper from 10 yards.
63 mins: The spell ends with Szoboszlai sending a 30-yarder just wide of the far post.
61 mins: Liverpool keep the ball for a while, 10 yards or so outside Brighton’s penalty area, all 11 away players between ball and goal.
58 mins: Gomez is booked for bringing down Baleba as Brighton look to break, and that’s one decision that can’t be quibbled with.
57 mins: …Then he gives a free kick when Adingra goes down under hardly any contact in the centre circle.
55 mins: Salah spins in the area and goes down. The referee waves away calls for a penalty and on Sky Jamie Carragher praises the decision, even as he watches a replay that surely, unless my eyes completely deceived me, showed Salah being tripped.
54 mins: Now Luis Diaz chips a cross towards the back post, but it’s just too high for Salah.
54 mins: The ball drops to Szoboszlai on the edge of the area, and he shanks his left-footed shot so badly it turns into a pass for Nunez on the left wing. Gomez sends in a cross, which Mac Allister heads just wide!
51 mins: Liverpool try to pass the ball out of defence, but they’re repeatedly pressured into turning it back to Kelleher and eventually the keeper goes long and Brighton win possession.
50 mins: Now Van Dijk is booked, after Baleba goes down. Another very harsh decision.
49 mins: Another free kick for Brighton. Danny Welbeck demands a yellow card and duly gets one – for himself.
48 mins: Moder executes two 360-degree spins before going down over a Liverpool leg and winning a free kick in his own half. He’s got a fine turn on him, that man.
46 mins: Peeeeeep! Mac Allister gets the second half started.
A very entertaining half, but with too many errors, from players and officials, for it to be truly great. It still holds the promise of much more excitement in half two, happily.
“How on earth do Brighton keep finding gems like Adingra?” wonders Rupak Pramanik. “He already looks like a £75m player (according to Chelsea’s pricing).” Just the most extraordinary scouting operation, over years now – and they’ve been just as successful at identifying coaches. There’s something beautifully inexplicable about Brighton’s success.
Updated
Half time: Liverpool 1-1 Brighton
45+5 mins: The free kick is headed away, and the referee blows his whistle (again). The home fans have a bit of a boo, presumably aimed at the official.
45+3 mins: Veltman goes down under a Luis Diaz challenge. The referee has been a bit whistle-happy to my tastes, and he doesn’t waste this chance to have a peep.
45+1 mins: There’ll be four minutes of stoppage time, give or take.
45 mins: Brighton pass the ball out of defence. Liverpool almost nick it off them about half a dozen times before they do so, but never quite get there.
42 mins: The ball falls to Mac Allister on the edge of the area, but he’s closed down before he can get a shot away.
38 mins: Then a Bradley chance, and shot over the bar. Brighton have defended their goal pretty well, and largely restricted Liverpool to half-chances. But there have been a lot of half-chances.
37 mins: Bradley crosses to Nunez at the near post, who throws himself at it and misses. The ball comes off a defender and back to Nunez, who improvises a hard, low shot from the turf. Verbruggen wasn’t paying the slightest attention – he had his arm in the air at the time – and is lucky that it hits his ankle and deflects wide.
35 mins: It’s Welbeck now in space down the left, and he pulls back to Moder, whose shot deflects off Van Dijk.
34 mins: Every promising Brighton attack has come down their left, where Simon Adingra is giving Conor Bradley a terribly hard time.
33 mins: Another feeble shot from a decent position for Liverpool, but there are more goals coming.
32 mins: Chace for Salah! He’s played in by Szoboszlai, and can pick his spot from the edge of the area. The spot he picks is the keeper’s shins, and the shot is slow enough for Verbruggen to pick it up.
31 mins: Brighton barely attacked between going ahead and Liverpool drawing level, but they’ve turned the tap back on now. Adingra feeds Welbeck, who shoots into the side netting from a tight angle.
29 mins: Brighton attack down the left, and the cross hits a defender and falls to Welbeck, who doesn’t convert, and anyway the flag is up.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Brighton (Luis Diaz, 27 mins)
It’s all square! Liverpool win a corner on the right, which it’s cleared to the edge of the area. Salah heads it back in but it would have bounced through to the keeper had Veltman not thrown up a leg to try to block it – he succeeds only in sending it looping into the path of Luis Diaz, who thumps it in from close range!
Updated
24 mins: Klopp wanted Liverpool to dominate possession, and they’re certainly doing that. But with a lead to protect, Brighton seem pretty comfortable with it.
20 mins: Gross is booked for a foul on Mac Allister – both tried to kick a bouncing ball and whoever got there second was bound to kick his opponent’s leg instead. Certainly a foul, but a harsh booking.
19 mins: An excellent Bradley run and a pass infield to Salah, who has no time to think about anything and sends a first-time shot wide. Salah has had a lot of shots already, but Verbruggen hasn’t had a save to make.
18 mins: Mac Allister chips the ball over the defence, and Salah runs onto it, watches it drop over his shoulder, and volleys over the bar.
Updated
17 mins: Salah has two shots blocked. Brighton have nine men inside the penalty area and another just inside it, and there’s hardly any chance of not hitting one of them.
14 mins: Liverpool give the ball away and Adingra looks to break. Mac Allister comes across to cut off the run and Adingra goes down again, earning his side a free-kick and Mac Allister a booking, Replays confirm that he felt no more than a brush of fingertips on his arm before executing a ludicrous dive. The crowd boos. Klopp shakes his head.
13 mins: A lovely pass from Mac Allister releases Salah on the right, inside the penalty area, but he doesn’t want to use his right foot and so cuts back, and into a defender.
12 mins: Some nice possession for Liverpool outside Brighton’s penalty area, but eventually Mac Allister’s had enough of it and wellies a shot over the bar.
11 mins: Which Gross curls over the penalty area and into touch for a goal kick.
10 mins: Adingra is held back by Mac Allister, and flings himself to the ground to make sure the referee notices. The free kick leads only to a corner.
9 mins: Bradley passes infield to Salah, who shifts onto his left foot and curls in a shot. Your eyes immediately move to the net, waiting for it to bulge. It does not. Goal kick.
8 mins: Adingra beats Bradley much too easily on Brighton’s left and roars down the wing, before sending in a cross that goes across goal and out the other side.
5 mins: Szoboszlai dinks the ball into the area and Nunez looks to run ahead of Estupinan to head it in, but suddenly tumbles. The crowd roars! Was he held back? Um, not really. Play on.
3 mins: Welbeck tries to give it to Moder and it actually rebounds back to him off Moder’s calf. It’s a great chance to have a shot, and Welbeck doesn’t hestitate!
GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Brighton (Welbeck, 2 mins)
Brighton score with the first attack of the game! The ball rebounds off a defender to Welbeck on the edge of the area, and he thrashes it into the top corner!
Updated
1 min: A lovely turn from Jakub Moder. It takes him away from one defender but right into another and thus achieves nothing, but I liked it.
1 min: Peeeeep! Brighton get the game started!
Before the game, a minute’s applause in memory of the former Liverpool and Nottingham Forest defender Larry Lloyd, who died this week aged 75. Liverpool are wearing black armbands.
A reminder of what the top of the table looks like going into a huge afternoon:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 28 | 46 | 64 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 28 | 39 | 64 |
| 3 | Man City | 28 | 35 | 63 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 30 | 20 | 59 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 18 | 56 |
The players and mascots are gathering in the tunnel. We’re just a few minutes away from football.
“This seems like a no-lose game for De Zerbi,” writes Richard Hirst. “Either he impresses the Anfield powers that be by masterminding a win or he earns their gratitude by losing. Just don’t go for the draw Robert!” Yeah, I’m not sure both outcomes are exactly equal - gratitude is great, but it doesn’t get you a big gig.
Conor Bradley is back in Liverpool’s starting line-up. Here’s Will Unwin:
If Roberto De Zerbi wants advice on how to impress the Anfield crowd he should seek Conor Bradley’s counsel. The full-back stepped in for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold in late January and has not looked back since his first Premier League home game against Chelsea.
Bradley scored once and assisted two in a 4-1 thrashing as he announced himself to Liverpool fans. De Zerbi brings his Brighton side to Anfield on Sunday with his name under consideration to replace the departing Jürgen Klopp. Another fine showing would make a timely statement, although the home fans will be hoping for a valiant defeat for the Italian.
Bradley is the type of player who would thrive under De Zerbi’s all-action style. A year ago, the 20-year-old was scoring the winner against Exeter in League One while on loan at Bolton but has quickly become an invaluable cog for Liverpool, flying up and down the right flank. He already has a Carabao Cup-winner’s medal and is aiming to follow it up with the Premier League and Europa League success.
Much more here:
Roberto De Zerbi has a chat now:
[Previous good results against Liverpool] are reat memories, but today is another thing. It’s a tough game. We want to play well, we want to make points and play a good game. We are spending a very tough moment in terms of injured players but we want to keep an eye on the result, because we have another 10 games and we want to try to reach the European positions, because we can do it.
Possession is important in every game, especially against Liverpool and other big teams. I think this season they are playing very well. I think they’re changing something in tactical disposition. It’s a tough game but we want to play in our style, in our way.
Jurgen Klopp has a chat with Sky:
I didn’t think a second about the other game, to be honest, it’s just about us. It’s always a challenge when the boys are coming back [from an international break] to find a common way again. We had a day more, I hope we use that properly. The opponent is strong, they’re different to all other teams in the league. It’s interesting, I’m looking forward to it, but it’s a challenge.
Brighton are a possession-based team. They struggle from time to time defensively but when you have the ball like they have, you have a formation like they have, we had not enough possession against them in the other games because that’s the best way to deal with them – we told the boys it would be cool if they had the ball more. I like preparing for these games. It hasn’t worked out recently but the longer you don’t win against these guys the more likely you do win the next one.
The teams!
Team news is in. Andy Robertson has failed a fitness test and is replaced in the Liverpool line-up by Conor Bradley. Brighton make four changes.
Liverpool: Kelleher, Bradley, Quansah, van Dijk, Gomez, Mac Allister, Endo, Szoboszlai, Salah, Nunez, Diaz. Subs: Konate, Adrian, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Clark, McConnell, Danns.
Brighton: Verbruggen, Veltman, Dunk, van Hecke, Lamptey, Baleba, Gross, Estupinan, Adingra, Moder, Welbeck. Subs: Igor, Webster, Lallana, Barco, Steele, Ferguson, Fati, Buonanotte, Chouchane.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).
Team news is IN! 📋
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 31, 2024
This is how the Reds line up to take on Brighton ✊ #LIVBHA
TEAM NEWS! 🚨 Here's our starting XI to take on Liverpool at Anfield. 👀📝
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 31, 2024
📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIedJv // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/48I83XbrJL
Preamble
Brighton’s record against Liverpool of late really is astonishingly good. In their first three Premier League seasons the Reds did the double over them, but since the summer of 2020 Brighton have won three and lost only one of eight meetings and have come away from Anfield with a 1-0 win and two high-scoring (2-2 and 3-3) draws, the last of those having been Roberto De Zerbi’s first match as manager.
Talking of whom, Ruben Amorim may have overtaken De Zerbi in the bookmakers’ reckoning as most likely replacement for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, but the coaches will provide an intriguing subplot to this match – though with any luck there’ll be enough action on the pitch for people to forget about them for a while.
Here’s Will Unwin’s thing to look out for in this game:
An Anfield audition for De Zerbi?
Whisper it, but Jürgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season and they need someone to replace him. One of the names linked to the Anfield hot seat is Roberto De Zerbi, who brings his lively brand of football to Merseyside on Sunday. The Italian has solid credentials, but the question is whether he can step up to a club vying for silverware. The new Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes once recommended De Zerbi to take over at former club Bournemouth, indicating his views. It might help that Hughes is an Italian speaker and very knowledgeable about European football. One thing that could help De Zerbi is the fact that he has Adam Lallana on his coaching staff, even though the midfielder is still playing, not to mention James Milner in his ranks. Sunday will, to some degree, be an audition for De Zerbi, and were he to end up at Anfield on a permanent basis fitting Milner and Lallana into the boot room might help the transition.
