Brighton vs Liverpool result: Five things we learned as Mohamed Salah chases the Golden Boot
Brighton 1-3 Liverpool
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Your support makes all the difference.Premier League title-winners Liverpool won 3-1 at Brighton on Wednesday night.
The home side gifted the Reds two goals in the first 10 minutes, trying to play out and being pressed into turnovers, with Naby Keita teeing up Mohamed Salah for the opener and Salah then setting up Jordan Henderson for the second.
Brighton did pull one back before half-time, however, with Leandro Trossard smashing in after a cross from the right.
But it was Salah again who sealed the win with a header from a corner in the closing stages and he could have even added more thereafter.
Here are five things we learned from the game at the Amex Stadium.
Stick or twist
Graham Potter clearly instructed his side to keep playing their usual style on the day, but it played into the Reds’ hands.
Liverpool are the best pressing and counter-attacking team in the league and that was displayed throughout the half, robbing possession as Brighton played out and creating chance after chance.
Should Potter have altered that appraoch? Would his team have been better-served on the night to play direct from the back, rather than trying to pass around the press?
Perhaps, but the manager has a longer-term view in mind and knows he won’t be judged on these games in isolation.
What it might do, though, is show him which players can, or cannot, play the way he wants to when it comes to improving and pushing up the table in seasons to come.
Salah chasing the Golden Boot
Mohamed Salah has been one of the Reds’ more lively players since lockdown, showing good speed and movement to his play even when some overall team performances have been extremely lax.
Here he was at it from the first whistle, looking to nick the ball away whenever possible and then immediately race into the box.
His link play was impressive too, but it’s on the goal trail that Salah belongs most of all. Team-mate Roberto Firmino gifted him the first of the night with a clever dummy and he almost scored another just before half-time.
Salah then planted a good header in at the near post late on to wrap up the win.
It leaves Salah on 19 for the league season, third in the race for the Golden Boot—which he has won, or shared, the past two seasons.
The lesser-spotted Keita
Naby Keita has been something of an enigma for Liverpool fans: a massive reputation and price tag—and Steven Gerrard’s old shirt number—and some excellent performances along the way, but far too inconsistently.
More often he has been injured, absent or otherwise left out, unable to get real consistency to his game or regular minutes on the pitch at full pelt.
Since the restart, though, he has probably been one of the most impressive players for the champions, taking the game to Everton, Aston Villa and now Brighton.
His pressing is ridiculous: so quick to close ground to his opponent, strong in the tackle and immediately capable of assessing where the best space is to exploit and pass to pick out.
A deserved assist for the game’s first goal, but now he needs to try and put in these displays for weeks and months to come.
No presents for youngsters
Neco Williams was handed a full Premier League debut, but Jurgen Klopp has already said it won’t be like handing out Christmas presents to the youngsters—they have to earn it.
The right-back actually started on the left, with Andy Robertson not fully fit and James Milner only just back from injury.
And despite a good start, the Welsh youngster had a tough time against fellow rookie Tariq Lamptey, Brighton’s biggest outlet throughout the game who certainly had the beating of Williams for pace.
Klopp took his teenage defender off at half-time, presumably due to being on a yellow card, and there were no entrances for Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott on the bench, either.
They’ll have to earn that game time just like the rest of the squad, just as Klopp said.
Records still on
Liverpool’s 30th win of the league season puts them on 92 points.
It leaves the Reds still in with a chance of racking up a record points haul for a single season, a great achievement to go with their title win if they manage it.
They can afford to not win one game, but Jurgen Klopp will want the relentlessness his team has shown all season to continue.
Next up is a home game to Burnley and the Reds are seeking a 100 per cent Anfield record this season too—along with the side-show of that game being Alisson vs Nick Pope, the two front-runners for the Golden Gloves award.
There remains plenty to play for!
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