Should we be too downhearted after losing to one of the best in the world?

What a beautiful day it was as Brighton were set to take on Liverpool. The sun was shining, there were blue skies everywhere and all was to play for at an Amex Stadium which looked even more amazing than normal.

Nearly as positive as the weather was the outlook of our Seagulls Travel coach driver. If the Albion could put in a performance to match his enthusiasm, then we would surely have no problems against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds. Alas, it was not to be.

The visitors from Liverpool were in fine voice, almost as if they have been on an unbelievable run of form. And yes, they did steal one of our footballs during the game.

Did the referee add time on for that interruption? Probably not. It was a certain Mike Dean from the Wirral on Merseyside. He was also the man in the middle when Brighton drew 2-2 at Anfield in October.

I don’t know what you think, but to have a neutral referee rather than one who lives a few miles away from the visitors would be nice. It would also stop any insinuations during and after the game that the officials are biased to their local club.

Certainly, Brighton fans did not feel that Mr Dean had given a fair performance if the reaction at full time was anything to go by.

The officials were booed off, which did seem a little harsh as they had kept Robert Sanchez on the pitch after a terrible challenge on Luis Diaz when Liverpool took the lead.

Before that happened, Brighton had begun strongly. Klopp said in his pre-match press conference that he likes the way Brighton play but does not enjoy the problems that it causes his side.

Klopp must have thought there would be plenty of problems again for Liverpool to deal with when Neal Maupay had an early shot not far away from Alisson’s post.

Mo Salah and Sadio Mane then showed why they are such a dangerous combination when earning the visitors a corner. That was a warning sign as Liverpool took the lead shortly after.

A long pass out of defence from Joel Matip headed towards Diaz, who was too quick for the Brighton defence to keep up with.

Diaz was brave and connected with a diving header even as the huge frame of Sanchez came flying through the air towards him. The ball rolled into the empty net as Sanchez connected with Diaz, the Liverpool forward going down like a sack of potatoes.

Sanchez had his head in his hands, suggesting that he thought a red card was coming. Going 1-0 down in the same instance as dropping to 10 men would have been a disaster for Brighton.

VAR took a look and decided it was accidental. Sanchez was allowed to carry on, a decision which basically every single pundit disagreed with.

It remained Brighton 0-1 Liverpool going into half time. Before the game, I felt that even if we went behind we would still have a chance of getting back into it, providing we were clinical when chances came our way.

Very early in the second half and such an opportunity did fall to Brighton. A handball by Maupay in the build up was missed by the officials – another reason they shouldn’t have been booed – before Maupay laid off to Leandro Trossard. He skied it over and the Albion’s second real chance of the game went begging.

Brighton were not the only ones showing wayward finishing. Diaz again used his pace to escape, this time from Joel Veltman and Tariq Lamptey.

He fed Salah who amazingly shot wide from the sort of position that he always scores. Lewis Dunk also deflected another Salah effort onto the bar. Maybe luck was on the Albion’s side and Liverpool would not get a killer second?

That hope lasted for all of five minutes. Naby Keita took a shot which hit Yves Bissouma straight in the hand, right in front of Mr Dean.

A penalty was the only outcome and Salah made no mistake this time, driving down the middle as Sanchez dived the other way.

Even if Sanchez had saved it, a retake would have been likely. The Brighton goalkeeper was so far off his line that you could see it from the East Stand Upper.

Perhaps Ben Roberts and his coaching team should have a word, otherwise we may find ourselves in the position one day where Sanchez keeps a penalty out, only for it to be taken again.

It must be said that Brighton were better after going 2-0 down. Dunk hit a long ball for Lamptey to chase which Alisson came right to the edge of his area to gather.

Lamptey could not quite get there but as Alisson caught the ball, his momentum carried him outside the box. His feet left the area but he twisted and held the ball inside with his outstretched arms.

Brighton fans and players wanted a free kick but no came the answer from Mr Dean. An interesting one and certainly something you do not see very often.

If Alisson had decided to handball it because he was bored, then he need not have bothered. The Albion ended up working the Liverpool goalkeeper more in the final five minutes than they had in the 85 which had gone before.

Danny Welbeck forced a great, cat-like reaction save from Alisson and Solly March nearly capped a great personal game for himself with a consolation. A one-goal defeat rather than the two suffered would have been more justified on the balance of play.

Not that we should be too downhearted, anyway. Brighton were playing against one of the best teams in the world. They have huge amounts of cash and have been playing at the top level for many years.

It takes years a long time to reach that level. For a club who have only been in the Premier League five seasons, the Albion are not doing too bad in competing with teams like Liverpool.

Losing against Liverpool is not a problem; the results against Burnley and Aston Villa were more disappointing. Wednesday night sees Brighton take on another of the big clubs when Spurs come to the Amex.

Victory will be difficult. Perhaps though we can hope for a first home goal in a long time? Seeing Tottenham concede three times against Manchester United at the weekend makes me think our beleaguered forwards can profit.

I am convinced this run of defeats will end soon, providing we all get behind the players. It would be nice to do it against Spurs with another famous win at the Amex.

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony