Zonal Marking VI – Brighton and H. A. v Liverpool F.C.

What could have been a simple three points for the Premier League champions turned out to be a real challenge for Liverpool as they travelled to Brighton on Wednesday night in their pursuit to break Manchester City’s record of 100 points from a single season.

Goalkeeper and defence

Alisson started in goal for Liverpool with Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk as the two central defenders alongside Alexander-Arnold at right back. Neco Williams, one of Liverpool’s most promising youngsters, made his first Premier League start at left back.

Brighton were forced to attack for large portions of the game given how quickly they went 2-0 behind. By the full-time whistle, they had managed a total of 11 shots (3 on goal) and were rewarded for their efforts in the first half after Tariq Lamptey caught William’s off guard before he put in a brilliant cross towards the box which found Leandro Trossard who struck it home on the volley. Alisson could have done better to block the strike however, and Dan Burns should have made it 2-2 after he caught the Liverpool keeper scrambling at the opposite side of goal in the later stages of the game.

William’s struggled to get into the game throughout his performance in the first half and he had a troublesome time trying to deal with Lamptey’s pace down the wing before he pulled the 19-year-old down and conceded a yellow card. Andy Robertson did a little better against him when he came on however and limited the winger’s attacking options during the second part of the game.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had an off day against Brighton and lost possession on numerous different occasions, but van Dijk had another standout performance for the Reds and his one-on-one, headed clearance against Brighton’s striker in the second half was as good as any Liverpool goal you’ll ever see.

Score: 6

Midfield

Naby Keita was fantastic for Liverpool – his precise passing and attacking play allowed the Reds to keep on the front foot and his tidy footwork allowed him to drive through the Brighton players and feed balls to Mo Salah. He struggled from a defensive point of view, but Naby perfectly encapsulated the idea of “our identity is intensity” which Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders said about the team’s mentality earlier on in the season. He also Linked up well with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain up front, and the duo showed how they have defined themselves as Liverpool’s more attacking partnership higher up the pitch.

Not long after his opener, Mo Salah laid off a thunderous strike for Jordan Henderson to put the Reds 2-0 up within 8 minutes and the Liverpool captain put in another commanding performance, especially in the first 25-30 minutes. It was a shame to see him substituted for James Milner in the closing stages of the game with a knee injury, but he didn’t look like he was in too much pain so we can only assume that it was nothing too serious.

Like Williams, Fabinho also picked up a yellow card after a clumsy challenge in the second half, but his balls over the top often found their targets on a regular basis which allowed Liverpool to make a good amount of attacking chances throughout the game.

Score: 9

Attack

Oxlade-Chamberlain was fantastic for Liverpool as he undertook the role of Sadio Mane on the right-hand side, although it did seem like his skill set would have been better suited elsewhere at times. Meanwhile, Roberto Firmino was perhaps the least involved out of the Liverpool players up front, and whilst he showed how important he can be for the tempo and pace of this Liverpool team when he came on from the bench against Villa last week, it would be nice to see him get on the score sheet more often.

Salah looked to starve the Brighton defenders of space whenever they got the ball and the Egyptian created a number of opportunities for the Reds including a good shot from Oxlade-Chamberlain near the end of the first half. The Egyptian’s goals were simple but brilliant with a strike across goal and a near post header which was assisted by Robertson. In 104 games, Salah has now scored 73 goals with 27 assists for Liverpool – making him one of the best to ever play in the league.

Score: 8

It was a mixed bag of performances from Liverpool against Brighton with Keita, Salah and Oxlade-Chamberlain excelling in their roles on the night whilst Trent and Joe Gomez showed room for improvement. Just four games remain of the Premier League campaign this season and Liverpool take on 9th placed Burnley this weekend who are currently sandwiched in between Arsenal (8th) and Spurs (10th).

Man of the Match: Mo Salah