Brighton earned a dramatic and controversial point at home to Premier League champions Liverpool – a result that incensed Jurgen Klopp and his team.
Pascal Gross rescued a draw for Brighton with an injury-time penalty after Diogo Jota had earlier given the visitors a second-half lead.
This was a game where once again VAR was the main talking point. VAR denied two goals for Liverpool and awarded a penalty for Brighton that many would dispute. Despite the result, Liverpool sit top of the Premier League – although that can change when Tottenham travel to Chelsea on Sunday.
Going into the match, it looked like there could be goals aplenty with Liverpool deploying an abundance of attackers on the pitch. They also had a very inexperienced back four, with only Andrew Robertson playing out of the recognised defensive line.
After the first five minutes, it looked like the game was going to go the way of most matches for Liverpool against less Premier League opponents as they created half chances through their immediate intensity.
However, as the minutes ticked by Brighton started to grow into the game. And early on Brighton boss Graham Potter noticed the significant high-line the Reds were playing. Without the pace offered by Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s defence was exposed in this way.
When in possession Brighton had one of their deep-lying midfielders or defenders lofting a ball down the channels for striker Aaron Connelly to run on to. This was proving to be quite difficult to deal for Liverpool as they couldn’t engage with their high press to stop this.
This became the pattern of the game, and in all fairness, Brighton were the more efficient team as Liverpool weren’t able to establish a rhythm and created very little with their attacking players.
And 18 minutes into the game Liverpool right back Neco Williams brought down Connolly for a clear penalty after the ball was clipped over Fabinho by Yves Bissouma. Neal Maupay stepped up to take the penalty but put the ball past the right-hand post – to the relief of Williams. The visitors had got off the hook as they were trailing in performance.
Thirty-three minutes in and a bit of class from Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino allowed him to control a goal kick from Alisson Becker on his chest and flick the ball over the defence. His pass found Mohamed Salah who slotted past Matt Ryan for a goal against the run of play. However, on closer look Salah’s big toe appeared to be offside in one of the tightest offside decisions VAR has given in the Premier League since its introduction last year. It reminded Brighton of who they were playing and how quickly they can change gears.
The game continued competitively, but neither team grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. Brighton continued to play their way with confidence and finished the half with more shots on target than the Premier League champions. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp seemed visibly agitated by the first-half performance and ran down the tunnel the second the whistle went for half time. The away team were a long way off their best in the first 45 minutes.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was introduced to the game at half-time and showed why he’s so valuable to his team – immediately getting on the ball and dictating play more as well as improving their intensity.
Brighton started dropping off as a team, allowing Liverpool to play in the final third as they began to create more half-chances.
However, this allowed Brighton to counter-attack too and Danny Welbeck had a chance when he found himself in space but his shot from a tight angle was denied by Alisson.
But Liverpool soon regrouped and broke the deadlock on 59 minutes when Jota, after some intricate play, found himself with space on the edge of the area. The Portuguese forward didn’t hesitate in driving a low shot past a diving Mat Ryan to give the Reds a deserved lead.
Brighton responded and within minutes had a very strong call for a penalty ignored after a cross when a cross struck Fabinho on the arm. Luckily offside was called to bail out the Brazilian for an otherwise potential spot-kick.
On 63 minutes Connolly was substituted for Adam Lallana, a decision that puzzled most – including Connolly who was outraged by the decision. He had been Brighton’s only real threat in the game up to that point.
As the game wore on, so did the injuries with James Milner and Lallana both forced off. Milner’s injury adding to Liverpool’s long wounded list.
Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead when substitute Sadio Mane got his head to the ball from a free-kick and directed it past Ryan. However, it was eventually ruled out by VAR for offside.
As the game ran towards 90 minutes, a ball was played into the box to Welbeck which was cleared by Robertson. Contact was made between the pair but it was minimal with Robertson clipping Welbeck’s foot. However, referee Stuart Attwell was advised to go to the monitor by VAR referee Kevin Friend and soon decided to award a penalty. Gross scored the resulting spot-kick to the anger of all involved for Liverpool.
The result will leave a sour taste in the mouth of Klopp. Liverpool will be disappointed with their overall performance and inability to create enough chances; despite the fact they had the ball in the back of the net three times.
A final score of 1-1 will suit the home team a lot more than the away side.
By Will Tyrell
