Seagulls prevent Liverpool from painting AMEX red - Salah's brace not enough

The points were shared at the AMEX as Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool played out an entertaining Premier League draw. The result extends the hosts’ unbeaten record in head-to-head clashes to four matches in all competitions (two wins, two draws).

Brighton recently became the first Premier League team this century to both score and concede 20+ goals in their opening 10 matches of a campaign in all competitions. With that in mind, the open start to proceedings was to be expected, and after a few half-chances, it was the hosts who seized upon a Liverpool error to take the lead. A poorly-executed exchange between Virgil van Dijk and former Seagull Alexis Mac Allister allowed Simon Adingra to steal the ball high up the field and catch out Alisson with an early strike.

With halftime fast approaching, the visitors had created precious little, yet in the blink of an eye, Liverpool were ahead. First, an incisive attack ended with Harvey Elliott leaving Darwin Núñez’s lay-off to allow Mohamed Salah to stroke home. Then, just four minutes later, Salah had a brace when he fired in from the spot following a Pascal Gross foul on Dominik Szoboszlai.

That late first-half flurry from Jürgen Klopp’s side means that both teams have scored in 14 of Brighton’s last 15 matches - a somewhat concerning statistic for Roberto De Zerbi on his 50th game in charge. The hosts’ strengths clearly lie in attack, and after the restart, Adingra looked to make up for their defensive shortcomings, forcing Alisson into a near-post stop. Liverpool then had a golden opportunity to establish a two-goal lead before the hour mark, but with the goal at his mercy, Ryan Gravenberch could only direct Szoboszlai’s cut-back onto the crossbar.

Brighton penalty appeals were waived away leaving De Zerbi irate on the touchline, but the Italian would soon have something to celebrate as the hosts restored parity. Solly March’s set-piece delivery was met by captain Lewis Dunk, who profited from Andrew Robertson’s hesitation to set up a dramatic final 10 minutes.

João Pedro skied a magnificent opportunity to claim all three points as ultimately, both sides were made to settle for a point. It’s a somewhat unsatisfactory result for Liverpool as they aim to rebuild some momentum following the “significant human error” fiasco of last weekend. Meanwhile, Brighton avoid back-to-back Premier League losses for the first time this calendar year, remaining sixth in the league table as a result.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 8

Saturday

Luton - Tottenham 0-1 (0-0)

/Van de Ven 52/

Fulham - Sheff. Utd 3-1 (0-0)

/Decordova-Reid 53, Foderingham 76 og, Willian 90+2 - Robinson 68 og/

Everton - Bournemouth 3-0 (2-0)

/Garner 8, Harrison 37, Doucoure 60/

Burnley - Chelsea 1-4 (1-1)

/Odobert 15 - Al-Dakhil 42, Palmer 50 pen, Sterling 65, Jackson 74/

Man Utd - Brentford 2-1 (0-1)

/McTominay 90+3, 90+7 - Jensen 26/

Crystal Palace - Nott. Forest 0-0

Sunday

Brighton - Liverpool 2-2 (1-2)

/Adingra 20, Dunk 79 - Salah 40, 45+1 pen/

West Ham - Newcastle 2-2 (1-0)

/Soucek 8, Kudus 89 - Isak 57, 62/

Wolverhampton - Aston Villa 1-1 (0-0)

/Hwang 53 - Torres 55/

18.30: (2.95) Arsenal (3.50) Man.City (2.55)

***odds are subject to change***