Liverpool beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday (25 October), with a Pascal Gross own goal and a finish from Alexander Isak in the first half, Liverpool FC reported in its match report. The win moved Andoni Iraola’s side up to fourth in the Premier League and was their fourth straight victory in all competitions.
The team
There were four changes from the side that started the Champions League game against Villarreal in midweek. Isak, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Bradley Barcola came back into the starting XI.
Liverpool: Alisson, Van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez (Tsimikas, 88), Wirtz (Nyoni, 65), Isak (Koumas, 77), Mac Allister, Gakpo, Barcola (Ngumoha, 77), Araujo, Gravenberch.
Two goals in the first half
In blustery conditions, Cody Gakpo had the first effort on target, a curler straight at Bart Verbruggen. Brighton had a golden chance in the 14th minute, when Yasin Ayari blazed a Gross cut-back over the bar.
Liverpool made them pay. Ronald Araujo’s cross was only half-cleared, Wirtz picked up the loose ball and struck it low at goal, and it went in off Gross.
Verbruggen denied Gakpo soon after the restart, but the second goal came quickly. Barcola blocked Olivier Boscagli’s attempted punt upfield, raced onto the deflection, brushed off a challenge and sent the ball into the box, where Isak guided it in from close range.
Last-ditch defending from Jeremy Jacquet and Araujo kept the lead at two, and the woodwork helped in the 36th minute, when Ayari’s bending shot hit the post after Liverpool gave the ball away from a goal-kick. Verbruggen tipped away a powerful drive from Araujo before the break.
Brighton push forward
Brighton committed more players forward in the second half. Trey Nyoni, on for Wirtz after 65 minutes, stopped a Maxim De Cuyper run from deep just as the full-back shaped to shoot.
The space left behind gave Liverpool chances on the break, though the finishing was not clean. They held on for a clean sheet in front of a crowd of 60,404.
