Brighton 2 Liverpool 2
Take two sides who press supremely well and attack at pace, but who also have defensive weaknesses, and perhaps it should not be a surprise when the result is a thrilling game, an exhausting end-to-end battle, full of incident and intrigue, that probably left both managers slightly frustrated. The dynamic may have been predictable, but it was no less enjoyable for that.
Would Liverpool be affected by last week’s VAR controversy? Would their fury and sense of disillusionment curdle into something self-destructive? Might it even galvanise them? The truth is it barely seemed to make a difference at all. This was Liverpool as they have been for most of the season, a blend of brilliance and vulnerability that makes them look at times like a title contender while the sense lingers that this cannot be sustained.
Five times already this season they have gone behind and come back to win and until Lewis Dunk turned in Solly March’s free-kick with 12 minutes remaining, it looked very much like being a sixth. That speaks well of their resilience and character, and rather less well of their defensive capacity. Thursday’s clean sheet against Union Saint-Gilloise was only their second of the season – and yet Dunk’s was the first second-half goal they had conceded this season with 10 or more players on the pitch.
Brighton have been just as bewildering at times this season, brilliant in some respects and yet so open that it seems they are never more than a couple of seconds from conceding. A euphotic feel pervades the Amex, a sense that they cannot quite believe their elevation to the European stage. But three games without a win before Sunday had made clear the strain that is being generated by the Europa League campaign. Roberto De Zerbi has never been afraid of juggling his resources, but six changes from the side that drew in Marseille on Thursday took the sum of his changes over the past six games to 36.
This was a game defined by pressing patterns and by both sides conceding possession in trying to pass out from the back. Their opener, though, could hardly have been more straightforward, Simon Adingra intercepting Virgil van Dijk’s ball to Alexis Mac Allister and rolling the ball in from 30 yards as Alisson, who had squared the ball to Van Dijk, failed to get back. It was a goal born of Brighton’s press, of the alertness and composure of Adingra, of poor pass selection and a lack of awareness.
And born also of Brighton’s almost impeccable recruitment, identifying the Ivorian’s potential after a season in the Danish league with Nordsjælland. The 21 year old very nearly got a second soon after half-time, sweeping inside Andy Robertson before being denied by a remarkable save from Alisson, who somehow reached behind him to claw away a goalbound shot.
Jürgen Klopp described Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton last season as the worst of his career and, before kick-off, he praised Liverpool’s opponents as “the best-coached side” in the league. The evidence was clear before half-time and Brighton managed to induce unease every time Van Dijk got the ball, leading to a lot of shouting and gesticulating between the Liverpool captain and the bench. With Liverpool struggling to play through Brighton, Dominik Szoboszlai, the most effective of their summer signings so far, struggled to get involved.
The Hungarian’s first real involvement brought the equaliser. Impressive as Brighton have been this season, they began the game having conceded more than anybody outside the bottom four. Theirs is a high-risk way of playing, but there is also a self-destructiveness about them; when Dunk’s pass was intercepted by Mac Allister, they were exposed to Szobszlai’s sharp forward pass, after which the front three combined for Mohamed Salah to score.
After two goals that stemmed from turnovers came a third. This time it was Bart Verbruggen, the Brighton keeper, at fault as he played the ball to Pascal Gross under pressure. As Gross was dispossessed, he grabbed at Szoboszlai’s collar, hauling him down, the ball breaking for Luis Díaz, who was tripped.
The penalty was given after the second offence, although the VAR check was apparently for the former; Gross seemed very fortunate to escape a red card, indeed any kind of card, for hauling Szoboszlai down just as he was about to shoot. Either way, Salah slammed in the penalty to give Liverpool a lead that would have seemed highly implausible five minutes earlier.
Having belatedly got into the game, Szoboszlai became central to Liverpool’s creative options. It was his cross that Ryan Gravenberch, on at half-time for Harvey Elliott, turned against the bar. It was a miss that would prove costly. The roars of Brighton fury as they were denied a penalty after Kaoru Mitoma’s shot had flicked off Van Dijk’s thigh on to his hand were evidence of their mounting pressure. Dunk’s leveller came soon after. – Guardian
