Liverpool clashed heads with Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium earlier this evening hoping to return to winning ways on the road. The Reds made a quick start to the game and took the lead in the sixth minute via Mohamed Salah’s breakaway goal. Jordan Henderson doubled his team’s advantage just two minutes later when he found the back of the net with a controlled finish. The home team got a goal back just before the half-time whistle courtesy of Leandro Trossard’s excellent finish.
The Merseyside outfit kept pushing in the second 45 minutes and finally made the points secure when Salah scored again, but this time via a powerful header from a tight angle. The contest ended with Jurgen Klopp’s men running away with a 3-1 win from the Amex Stadium.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match versus the Seagulls.
GK: Alisson Becker – 6.5/10
The Brazilian keeper would be gutted to have not kept a clean sheet. He made a couple of important saves during the game, but his ball-distribution was a bit off today.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10
The English defender was mostly untroubled defensively, but struggled to deliver any quality crosses into the opposition penalty box which was very unlike him.
CB: Joe Gomez – 6.5/10
The Liverpool centre-back made some vital clearances for his side but picked a yellow card for a cynical foul late in the game.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch colossus began the match a bit slow, but put in a dominant display in the second half, which was enough to give his team all three points.
LB: Neco Williams – 7/10
The talented youngster was deployed as a makeshift left-back on his first Premier League start, but the occasion did not faze him. He enjoyed his battle with Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey, but got cautioned in the first half which could explain why Klopp decided to sub him out at half-time.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 8/10
The Liverpool captain worked his socks off to lead the press in midfield and popped up with a great goal in the 8th minute. However, he picked up a serious-looking injury late in the game and was forced off the pitch before the full-time whistle.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7.5/10
The Dutch midfielder battled for every loose possession of the ball and produced another impressive display at the heart of Klopp’s midfield.
CM: Naby Keita – 8/10
The Guinean playmaker forced Davy Propper into making a mistake and kept his composure to pick out Salah’s run in the lead-up to Liverpool’s opening goal.
LW: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlian – 6/10
He made a couple of driving runs with the ball without causing too much damage in the final third.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 6.5/10
The Brazilian striker was not at the top of his game, but he still showed some glimpses of his brilliance, especially on the counter.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 9/10
The Egyptian speedster was back to his best as he caused numerous problems for the Brighton defenders during the 90 minutes. Salah scored two goals and picked up one assist as well in what was another mesmerising display from him on the right-wing.
Substitutes:
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7.5/10
The Scottish full-back was full of running down the left flank and showed his class by delivering an inviting cross in the lead-up to Salah’s second goal.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian midfield ace brought some dominance back into Liverpool’s build-up play and did enough to restrict the Seagulls from scoring in the second half.
LW: Sadio Mane – 7.5/10
The Senegalese winger’s pace caused a lot of problems for Lamptey. He was a constant goal-threat after coming off the bench.
CM: James Milner – 6/10
The ex-Manchester City talent did enough to see out the victory.
ST: Takumi Minamino – N/A
The Japan international did not have enough time to make an impact.
