High scoring fun in the October sun: Brighton 2-2 Liverpool photos
The mercury surpassed 20 degrees in Sussex on Sunday 8th October 2023 and it was not just the temperature which was heating up as these photos from Brighton 2-2 Liverpool show.
We are of course referring to the face off between Gully and some sort of pink animal in a mascot penalty shootout in front of the North Stand.
Yes, a Liverpool side packed with some of the finest players in the world might have been in town. But seemingly the moment Albion fans really wanted to capture on camera was a person dressed as a pig (was it a pig?) leathering a ball at a person dressed as a seagull.
The penalty between two seven feet tall animals taking centre stage would have made more sense had the actual football been a dull 0-0.
But what happened on the pitch was actually a rip-roaring 2-2 draw providing plenty of high quality entertainment.
Brighton took an early lead when Simon Adingra dispossessed former Seagull Alexis Mac Allister before firing in a quick shot from 30 yards which caught Alisson Becker by surprise.
It looked like the Albion would go into half time ahead until two defensive mistakes just before the interval turned the game on its head.
A poor Lewis Dunk pass out of defence allowed the Redmen to launch a lightning quick counter, rounded off by Mo Salah beating Bart Verbruggen.
Salah then doubled Liverpool’s advantage from the penalty spot. Verbruggen gave a short pass to Pascal Gross under pressure, who subsequently brought down Dominik Szoboszlai to conceded a spot kick.
Gross was lucky to avoid a red card. Verbruggen meanwhile was making something of a cock up playing out from the back for the second game running, having also been caught when giving away a goal in Brighton 3-1 Bournemouth last month.
Brighton were much the better side in the second half and might have had a penalty of their own. Virgil van Dijk handled in the box but play was waved on.
Cue the Amex breaking into a chant of “We want a replay”, mocking Jurgen Klopp for suggesting Spurs v Liverpool should be replayed because of mistakes made by officials.
The Albion eventually got the goal their performance deserved when Dunk volleyed home a Solly March free kick from close range.
If you have any photos you would like included in our Brighton 2-2 Liverpool gallery, please e-mail them to wearebrighton@hotmail.co.uk or tweet them to us @wearebrighton
