Liverpool 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion – Mac Allister pulls the strings to send Reds top
Diaz and Salah turn game around after Welbeck early screamer stunned Anfield
Liverpool came from behind to defeat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Anfield to go back to the top of the Premier League, a position solidified by Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal later that day.
Danny Welbeck stunned Anfield with a long-range effort in front of the Kop to put the visitors ahead, before Luis Diaz sneaked in behind to latch onto a scuffed Joel Veltman clearance to equalise.
Mohamed Salah, after several missed chances, latched onto Alexis Mac Allister’s pin-point pass to score the winning goal with 25 minutes to play.
On a massive Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, which saw the top three all play, it was imperative that Liverpool got the three points to keep the destiny of the Premier League title in their own hands.
However, after just 87 seconds, Jurgen Klopp’s side were behind, as Virgil Van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai and Jarell Quansah all failed to close down Welbeck on the edge of the box, before the ex-Manchester United and Arsenal man slammed home into the top corner to give Roberto De Zerbi’s side the lead.
As the half wore on, the Anfield crowd began to feel the nerves, and voiced their disagreement with referee David Coote’s decisions on a number of occasions, most notably his decision to book Alexis Mac Allister for a soft challenge on Simon Adingra.
Liverpool did get the equaliser their pressure duly deserved just before the half-hour mark, as Salah headed a clearance from a Reds corner back towards goal, which Veltman inadvertently flicked onto Diaz, who smashed the ball into the top corner.
Klopp’s men were almost in front before half-time in bizarre circumstances, as Darwin Nunez improvised to shoot whilst on the floor which bounced off of Bart Verbruggen and wide.
After the interval, the pressure began to take its toll on the visitors, and eventually Liverpool managed to break through, as Szoboszlai found Mac Allister on the edge of the box, who expertly found Salah to finish into the bottom corner.
Diaz thought he’d made it three moments later after a rapid break which saw Nunez square to Salah before the Egyptian found Diaz brilliantly, whose strike was fumbled into the net by Verbruggen, but the Colombian was offside from Salah’s pass.
Brighton pushed to grab a point late on, and almost got their equaliser twice, first through ex-Red Adam Lallana as he put wide from the angle, and then Caoimhin Kelleher denied Lewis Dunk’s header with minutes to go, but Liverpool survived to snatch the points needed to head top.
Man of the Match – Alexis Mac Allister
Mac Allister returned from the international break to face the side he departed for just £35 million from nine months ago, and he made the Seagulls realise what they missed.
The Argentine pulled the strings in the Reds midfield and controlled the tempo of the game from the off, and ultimately had the most important say of them all.
The assist for the winner summed up his game in a nutshell. Calm. Cool. Collected. A midfield masterclass in-keeping with his recent form.
Goalscorers
Liverpool 2 – Diaz (27′), Salah (65′)
Brighton 1 – Welbeck (2′)
Featured Image: Credit – Associated Press/Alamy
