Match Review: Liverpool 1-0 Brighton
Last season when Brighton and Hove Albion faced Liverpool over two games, the aggregate score was a 9-1 defeat. If anything, that flattered Brighton.
The Reds ripped us apart at the Amex by winning 5-1 and although the Albion had the excuse for the return game at Anfield that there was nothing to play, even if there had have been something riding on it, the 4-0 defeat suggested we’d not have laid a glove on them.
So this was a significant improvement taking on a side that tore us to pieces. Jurgen Klopp said his Reds weren’t at their best and that is probably true as no side clicks this early in the season, especially in a World Cup year. Yet Brighton could quite feasibly had come away with a point.
It was only a superb stop from the world’s second most expensive goalkeeper that meant we left Anfield empty handed. Without Allison, Pascal Gross’ header would’ve meant a point. Had Simon Mignolet or Loris Karius – concussion or no concussion – been in goal, then Gross is scoring that.
Fine margins and already that defeat away at Watford seems like a lifetime away. Now the key is going to be going to places like Vicarage Road and putting on a performance like that there. Maybe then we’ll pick up more than a paltry two wins on the road and only 10 goals.
Speaking of goals, the one that won this one was nearly as good as Allison’s save. It came from Mo Salah of course who managed to place the ball perfectly between Maty Ryan’s outstretched hand and the post.
Other than those two moments, quality was hard to come by. Salah put a couple of other chances into orbit, Sadio Mane struck an effort wide, Roberto Firmino drew an outstanding stop from Ryan and Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the bar with a free kick.
The second half was largely a non event bar that Gross header. The German playmaker had been dropped to the bench in favour of £15m man Yves Bissouma which surprised most pundits. It won’t have come as too much of a shock to seasoned Albion observers though – Gross was ineffective at Watford, the continuation of a pattern that has seen him struggle to get into games away from the Amex.
He obviously isn’t helped by the set up. We have far less possession away from home and trying to play on the counter, Gross appears to be too slow to get forward and support the already pedestrian Glenn Murray.
Hughton might have stumbled upon a far more effective way of playing on the road with Bissouma using his pace and drive to attempt to get forward much quicker from the number 10 position. It’ll be interesting if Hughton sticks with that for our next away game in three weeks time at Southampton.
Any sane Brighton fan would have bitten your hand off for 3-2 win against Manchester United and a narrow 1-0 defeat at Liverpool when we were heading away from Watford a fortnight ago. Three points against a Fulham side who have themselves made a decent start to life in the top flight and it’s a promising beginning ahead of the first international break of the season.
