Brighton 2-1 Liverpool: Albion eliminate holders from FA Cup
Leandro Trossard and Arsenal are not going to win the FA Cup. Marc Cucurella, Glow Up Graham Potter and Chelsea are not going to win the FA Cup. And if Moises Caicedo joins either of those clubs, he will not win the FA Cup. But Brighton might after their 2-1 win over Liverpool sent the holders crashing out of the competition at the fourth round stage.
It does matter who the European Super League Elite Six cherry pick from the Albion, Roberto De Zerbi just keeps the show rolling. No Caicedo? No problem.
The future of the Ecuador midfielder had dominated the build up to the visit of Jurgen Klopp and his Reds. Brighton had cleverly taken control of the situation, removing any prospect of Caicedo going on strike by telling him to stay away until at least the closing of the transfer window.
That ill-advised statement posted Friday night by Caicedo on social media saying he wanted to leave had the fingerprints of greedy agents all over it, rather than a young man who up to now has been extremely likeable and whom nobody at Brighton has had a bad word to say about.
Caicedo has been terribly guided by his new agents Futbol Division. He cannot possibly have imagined that within a week, their advice would lead to him being put on gardening leave and spending his Sunday at home doing a jigsaw, making jam or something else, instead of being a part of another historic afternoon at the Amex.
Arsenal fans seem to think Brighton will have to sell because an unhappy player will rock the boat. The attitude and application Brighton showed in beating Liverpool 2-1 and the scenes when Kaoru Mitoma crashed in the Albion’s injury time winner suggest otherwise.
No matter how many toys are thrown out the pram by Trossard and now Caicedo, this squad are determined to let nothing undermine their attempts to enter the Brighton history books.
Which means Caicedo has two choices if he stays beyond January – either knuckle down and give his all for the cause or spend the next five months training with the Under 21s.
Based on the togetherness in De Zerbi’s first team squad, Caicedo’s presence will not unsettle if he chooses the latter path. It would merely be a waste of his superb talent.
And what scenes those were when Mitoma struck. The Amex erupted once, tension descended when VAR took a look and then it erupted again after the offside check could find nothing wrong.
A few minutes later and the full time whistle blew, followed by a deafening chorus of “Qué será, será, whatever will be, will be, we’re going to Wembley.”
It would have been a travesty had Brighton not won, both for the chances they created and the fact that Liverpool should have been down to nine men.
Having not come close to laying a glove on the Albion in their 3-0 defeat at the Amex a fortnight earlier, Klopp elected to try a new approach to overcoming Brighton – kicking them off the park.
Fabinho should have seen red for a terrible challenge on the outstanding Evan Ferguson which left the 18-year-old to head home on crutches after the game.
The Brazilian’s reaction after planting his studs on the back of Ferguson’s ankle said everything. He looked like a child who had just been caught by his parents stealing from a jar of biscuits, holding his hands up and shaking his head in a sheepish manner.
Fabinho expected a red card. Referee David Coote missing the incident was one thing but for VAR to take a look and think “No, that seems fine” was something else altogether.
PGMOL are going to have to be more creative with their excuse for not sending Fabinho for an early bath than Nadhim Zahawi explaining his taxes.
The role of the officials is to protect players and they failed miserably in their duty, leaving De Zerbi and Brighton to hope that the injury suffered by Evan Ferguson is not long term.
After such an impressive start to his Albion career, Ferguson does not deserve to be put on the shelf by a reckless and inexcusable tackle from opponents who should be better than setting out to hurt the other team.
Less serious but also deserving of a card was Ibrahima Konate and his obvious shove which sent Alexis Mac Allister to the ground as he raced through on goal a short time before the challenge on Ferguson.
Konate had been booked earlier for a nasty foul on Ferguson, so even a yellow would have seen him heading for an early bath.
So blatant was what the outcome of those two challenges should have been that a cynic might suggest the referee and VAR had been told to do everything possible to keep Liverpool in the FA Cup.
That would also explain the VAR check on Mitoma’s winner, those at Stockley Park desperately trying to find any reason to disallow the goal and keep the Redmen in the competition.
But just like all those toys being thrown from the pram of Caicedo, questionable-bordering-on-bent officiating could not stop Brighton from beating Liverpool 2-1.
The game began at a frenetic pace with both sides having an early chance cleared off the line. Lewis Dunk denied Mo Salah in the third minute followed by Trent Alexander-Arnold blocking a Ferguson effort which had beaten Alisson despite an unclean connection.
Unsurprisingly, the officials gave Liverpool a helping hand in opening the scoring on the 30 minute mark. Naby Keita appeared to handle before the Reds worked the ball to Salah.
He played in Harvey Elliott and although Jason Steele got a hand to the ball, he could not keep it out. A good excuse for Steele to spend more time picking up and putting down pints in the pubs of Hove to strengthen his wrist muscles.
The lead lasted only 10 minutes. Tariq Lamptey has been the subject of speculation surrounding his future last week with Sporting Lisbon and Lyon said to be interested in a player who has started just one Premier League game this season.
Lamptey pushed his claims for more involvement in the second half of the campaign with an excellent display, including being central to the equaliser.
Liverpool could only clear a corner to the edge of the box where Lamptey let rip from 30 yards. Initially, it appeared to be Lamptey’s goal and he tore off celebrating, only for Dunk to do the same.
Replays showed that the Albion captain had got an important touch to take the ball away from Alisson, meaning Dunk has now scored against Liverpool in the Premier League and FA Cup and for Liverpool in both competitions thanks to his penchant for own goals when facing the Reds earlier in his career.
Brighton had the better chances in the second half, especially after Billy Gilmour replaced Danny Welbeck. Dat Guy being deployed as a number 10 behind Ferguson was an interesting selection decision by De Zerbi.
Mitoma became increasingly influential as the game went on, to the point that Klopp removed Alexander-Arnold to save him from potential PTSD suffered as a result of the rinsing he was taking.
One magnificent run and cross with the outside of the boot from Mitoma set up Solly March for a glorious chance with 20 minutes remaining. Alisson though pulled off a superb save.
It was fitting that Brighton found the goal which made it 2-1 as a result of another crude Liverpool tackle. Andy Robertson found his way into the book for chopping down Mac Allister, giving Pascal Gross the chance to deliver a ball into the box from the subsequent free kick.
Over it came to Mitoma at the back post. Substitute Deniz Undav played a very underrated role in blocking a Red defender from getting closer to Mitoma, who chop-flicked the ball over Joe Gomez and crashed home a volley for a quite sensational finish.
There was no time left for the visitors to respond. Having waited 61 years for a home win over Liverpool, Brighton have now beaten the Reds twice at the Amex in the space of 15 days.
De Zerbi is making anything seem possible right now – including Wembley. Qué será, será…
