A fiery west Midlands derby.
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Red Bull’s Adrian Newey, celebrating his 25th championship as the genius car designer, says: “this has been one of the easier ones, Max Verstappen has been absolutely exceptional.”
The Hammers stop PSQ conquerors.
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A big day of PL action, with this one the big one.
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Here’s Jonathan Wilson’s report from the Amex Stadium.
Brighton‘s Lewis Dunk spoke to Sky:
I think we were the better side throughout and then we had a funny five minutes. We have got to be better than that. We have shown great character to come back and get the draw.” Sloppiness from us [let Liverpool take the lead]. I gave the ball away cheaply and they capitalised on that. We have to keep improving, keep learning and get better. After the defeat we have come back and got the draw today. It’s just that final bit that the moment. We are a little bit off.
Other Premier League scores
West Ham 2-2 Newcastle
Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 10 | 20 |
| 2 | Man City | 7 | 12 | 18 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 7 | 9 | 17 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 8 | 7 | 16 |
| 6 | Brighton | 8 | 5 | 16 |
| 7 | West Ham | 8 | 3 | 14 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 8 | 11 | 13 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| 10 | Man Utd | 8 | -3 | 12 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 8 | 4 | 11 |
| 12 | Fulham | 8 | -5 | 11 |
| 13 | Nottm Forest | 8 | -2 | 9 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 8 | -5 | 8 |
| 15 | Brentford | 8 | -1 | 7 |
| 16 | Everton | 8 | -3 | 7 |
| 17 | Luton | 8 | -9 | 4 |
| 18 | Burnley | 8 | -13 | 4 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 8 | -13 | 3 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 8 | -16 | 1 |
Peter Campbell: “After seeing so many red cards in Liverpool’s last fixtures, I have to ask: why was there no card on the penalty? Do we no longer give cards for clear and obvious goal scoring opportunities? I’m just so confused as to what is a card and what isn’t.”
Feels like you’re not alone. Let’s wait for Howard Webb’s apology.
Full-time: Brighton 2-2 Liverpool
Klopp and De Zerbi and are deep in conversation after a huge hug. The right result, you’d say. Brighton were all over Liverpool, who may rue missing the chances they had before Dunk’s equaliser. Brighton meanwhile will bemoan Joao Pedro’s late miss.
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90+4 min: A booking for Baleba for a tactical foul. Liverpool waste the free-kick get the ball back, only for Danny Welbeck to clear…it’s the last action of the game.
90-3 min: All Liverpool but Brighton looking to the counter. Out goes Alisson to smash the ball when Fati was the recipient of a long pass. Then Fati and Welbeck gets caught at crossed purposes.
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90+2 min: Jurgen Klopp continues to look peeved. Vital points are in danger of being coughed up. At least Gomez gets in a decent tackle on Mitoma for once.
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90 min: Liverpool enjoying possession for what feels the first time in a while. There will be four minutes added on here…
89 min: Brighton sub: Joao Pedro off, Ansu Fati on…Mo Salah, meanwhile, has a shot blocked.
88 min: Robertson plays in Diaz, but his shot flies miles wide.
87 min: March’s free-kick can only find Danny Welbeck’s miskick.
86 min: Winner takes all here, next goal wins…Robertson, trying to make up for the goal, fizzes in a cross. Then Mitoma skips on and is fouled by Gomez, who is booked. Another free-kick in a dangerous position.
84 min: March and Mitoma double-teaming down the left is causing big problems. Adingra on the other flank has been similarly dangerous, and his pass finds Joao Pedro but he skies it….De Zerbi, hands still in pocket, screams into the Sussex skies.
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82 min: Mac Allister scythes down Joao Pedro and Brighton have a free-kick in the same position as their equaliser…Gross tries to take the acute angle and hits the wall. Get it in the mixer, lad!
81 min: Jurgen Klopp, still in t-shirt, looks peeved once more. His team have not played well aside from those five minutes at the end of the first half.
80 min: Liverpool make a sub that was surely pre-planned, even if that was terrible defending. Joe Gomez replaces Trent Alexander Arnold.
Goal! Brighton 2-2 Liverpool (Dunk, 78)
March’s cross….Robertson gets caught in a mess, reluctant to use his right foot and Dunk pokes home.
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76 min: There’s a little less energy in this half as compared to the first, which stands to reason. Adingra, who has looked so dangerous and direct causes problems, and so soes Solly March, who wins a free-kick off the left-hand side of the box.
74 min: Diaz and Adingra engaged in a chase of road runner v Wile E Coyote proportions, each trying to press the other into oblivion.
72 min: Liverpool sub: looks like Matip was hurt in that Mitoma collision and on comes Konate.
70 min: The Brighton fans chant for a replay…
69 min: Chaotic scenes as Mitoma escapes from Alexander-Arnold. Mitoma has a swing at the ball and it hits Virgil van Dijk’s hand. A natural position? Hmm, if you like. Roberto De Zerbi has gone radio rental and gets booked, with Jurgen Klopp trying to calm him down.
67 min: Szoboszlai receives the first booking of the game, a hefty lunge on Solly March receiving the commensurate punishment.
66 min: Alisson comes out very deep to exchange passes. This sweeper-keeper thing is all the rage now and he has to sprint back a ball out to Mitoma is only just stopped by Alexander-Arnold.
64 min: Liverpool pushing up and pushing on, trying to cut Brighton off at source. Mac Allister again steps into the attack, and Gravenberch gets a chance to shoot. He can’t keep it down.
62 min: A break in play for injury, as Igor leaves his Premier League debut, and on comes Van Hecke to play alongside Lewis Dunk.
61 min: Brighton sub: Welbeck replaces Ferguson.
60 min: Matt gets in touch: “Just a note on the irony (as a Union Saint-Gilloise fan) that adingra scored today against Liverpool just a few days after we played Liverpool in the Europa League - he was one of our stars as we got to the Europa League quarters last year, on loan from Brighton for a year before being brought into the Brighton team. We could have done with him on Thursday!
“Mitoma took exactly the same path the season before (and tore the Belgian league apart during his year with us). Adingra is fantastic, probably not quite Mitoma level of exciting but an excellent passer and capable of finishing well himself. I think (and hope) he’ll do well at Brighton.”
58 min: Mac Allister, who has struggled against his old club, steps up. He’s had so many firefights to put out.
56 min: Mitoma and Gross send away March down the line but the ball is cleared. There are calls for a Liverpool handball. Nothing given.
55 min: It’s end to end stuff…March forces a corner by pressing as deep as possible.
54 min: Liverpool hit the post! Szoboszlai speeds to the line, plays the ball to the back post and Gravenberch – somehow – can’t direct it into the net.
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53 min: Mitoma and Matip collide, the Liverpool defender having read the ball to cut off an attack.
51 min: Evan Ferguson gets a sighter, laid on for him by Joao Pedro, but can’t keep the ball on target.
49 min: Close….Adingra speeds way beyond a labouring Robertson and forces a fine save from Alisson who looks to have damaged himself in making that save. Adingra looks absolutely mustard.
48 min: Nunez swings a leg at the ball, and then it spins to Salah. Solly March runs in but restrains himself from making a foul on Salah.
47 min: Evan Ferguson, quiet in the first half, is flagged offside. It looked…debatable.
46 min: The second half begins with Ryan Gravenberch replacing Harvey Elliot for Liverpool. Something needed to change in that midfield, even if Liverpool did take the lead.
Half-time: Brighton 1-2 Liverpool
Game of 40 minutes then another five. Liverpool were all over the show and then sprang into life just as it seemed Brighton’s zest and smothering tactics had the beating of them. Mo Salah his ever reliable stuff in front of goal. It’s been a great game so far, more of the same, please!
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45+2 min: Three minutes were added on there.
45+1 min: Brighton rather architects of their own downfall, being picked off in the fashion that is so popular now, using the press to force mistakes.
Goal! Brighton 1-2 Liverpool (Salah, 45 pen)
Bottom left, no problem and Liverpool lead a game that was running away from them.
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Penalty to Liverpool!
43 min: Ooof…collision between Nunez and Verbruggen. And then, more chaos descends. Verbruggen tries to play out. Szoboszlai is fouled by Gross…shirt pulled, VAR takes a look. For luck, Diaz was fouled in the aftermath.
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41 min: Brighton’s defence, reconfigured, rather lost its organisation for the goal.
Goal! Brighton 1-1 Liverpool (Salah, 40)
Jurg is far happier now…his team find their step at last. Szoboszlai to Diaz, lovely ball inside, stepover from Elliott and Salah finishes. The away drought is over. That was incisive, the Liverpool attack at its very best.
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39 min: Jurgen Klopp, in t-shirt, guns out, looks peeved.
37 min: Mac Allister, not the quickest, trips up a galloping Joao Pedro. Free-kick, for which Mac Allister has to play the draught-excluder role. It’s taken by Dunk, walloped into the midriffs of the wall.
35 min: Liverpool’s discomfort is clear as they pass round the back. Alisson having to step out and take part. Where are the runners? The answer is them being marked. Elliott’s long pass causes a problem and Dunk clatters the ball out.
32 min: Brighton passing it around here, Liverpool trying to play them at their own game of picking off the passes and counter-attacking…this time Alexander-Arnold defends well, reading Joao Pedro’s ball to Mitoma.
31 min: Liverpool really struggling here. Baleba pounds down the field, blazing past midfield, and drags a shot wide. Where were the defenders?
29 min: Adingra is set clear by Joao Pedro, and then Mitoma is played, cutting past Alisson and falling to the ground. No danger of a penalty though, he slipped. Alexander-Arnold rather let that all happen by not tracking the runner.
27 min: Gross, such a good player, so underrated he’s rated, forces a corner. Dunk the target once more? Not this time. Trent Alexander-Arnold has top head behind for another. Adingra was lurking.
25 min: Igor is down, having felt the force of a Salah shot in the face. That’s gotta hurt…but he carries on.
24 min: Mo Salah – still dangerous despite a barren run away from Anfield – cuts in from the right but can’t keep his shot on target.
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23 min: Chatting to a young Brighton fan at Villa last week, he told me Adingra was the real deal. Another jewel unearthed? Brighton are a phenomena.
Goal! Brighton 1-0 Liverpool (Adingra, 21)
Liverpool are sprung. Van Dijk dallies, Adingra steals in and scores. Simple Simon, so simple. It’s Alexis Mac Allister who’s at the centre of it all.
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19 min: Darwin Nunez, it feels fair to say, has not been too apparent in this game.
17 min: Brighton get a free-kick from the left-hand side. This time, as before, it’s aimed at Lewis Dunk but his attempt to assist Joao Pedro doesn’t work out.
15 min: Eric Petersen gets in touch: “Good morning from Pittsburgh! Re David Wall’s comment: his conclusion that Brighton are “not held to the same level of criticism as other teams” baffles me. For a club of Brighton’s size to have put themselves in the position they are is rather incomparable. It seems a false equivalency to deduce that since Brighton’s current form based on results is below an in-crisis Manchester United, Brighton should thus be considered as “in-crisis” too.
“Brighton’s efforts to sustain a stunning presence in the upper reaches of English football while subjecting themselves to the grind of European competition continue to captivate this neutral. The expectation that I should view their narrative through the same indifferent short-term results-based filter as Manchester United’s defies reason. Denigrating what Brighton are accomplishing by comparing them to the travails of a behemoth like ManU simply doesn’t resonate well.”
14 min: It looks like Brighton are playing with a back three when they have the ball then getting back in numbers when they haven’t. This is by no means an orthodox approach.
13 min: Szoboszlai is the fulcrum of a Liverpool attack, attempting to find runners but Brighton again force them back. Brighton have been very poised.
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12 min: Van Dijk and Joao Pedro collide, the ball miles from them. Nothing given, it was accidental. Brighton then surge on, Baleba to the fore.
10 min: Liverpool attempting to play from the back but find Brighton players closing off the angles. Shades of last season. The ball eventually goes long to Salah but the danger is cleared.
8 min: It’s high-octane stuff, as was expected.
7 min: Liverpool go down the other end and have a free-kick in a dangerous position. This time, Szoboszlai can only crash it into the wall.
5 min: Close, from a corner. Liverpool pulled in all directions, Solly March and Lewis Dunk both get chances, Pedro has a shot blocked, and then another. Brighton were so quick there.
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3 min: Baleba makes a speedy, cutting incursion to sweep up; he’s the player to replace Moises Caicedo and that looked rather like his predecessor.
1 min: They kick and the answer to the question of who will fill the left-back spot for Brighton has an answer. It’s Solly March, though he’s pushing up. Pascal Gross is also involved. De Zerbi will always come up with novel solutions.
The teams have taken to the field, and it’s very sunny in Brighton, as it is everywhere down south.
Jeff Sax calls it: “On recent form, Brighton have no chance but…[De Zerbi] doesn’t face questions like Klopp, Ten hag and Arteta for example, as Brighton have less of a winning history and don’t spend the same amounts of money on players.”
Ian Copestake weighs in, too: “One unexpected consequence of the refereeing fiasco last weekend was to find sense in the words of Anton Chigurh: ‘If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?’
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Feargal gets in touch: ““I am a Liverpool fan here in Berlin and like Endo a lot but have you seen how good Stuttgart are since he left!”
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stuttgart | 7 | 14 | 18 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 8 | 17 |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 14 | 16 |
| 4 | Hoffenheim | 7 | 5 | 15 |
| 5 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 14 | 14 |
David Wall gets in touch: “I expect like many non-Brighton supporters, it was Brighton’s demolitions of Liverpool twice in a fortnight last season when I really started to notice what an exciting team they were becoming. But does that daring style get them a bit of a free ride at times? In amongst many good performances against the ‘bigger’ sides, they also chuck in bad defeats by sides that they should be beating comfortably given their quality (think last weekend at Villa, at home to Everton at the end of last season, etc. And considering their form over the last 5 games in all competitions* before this weekend is even worse than Manchester United’s (a club in ‘CRISIS’, don’t forget), you might think De Zerbi would face more questions. Is it a bit patronising of Brighton that they’re not held to the same level of criticism as other teams?
“ *(a win in the league and draw in the Europa league, with losses in league, Europa league, and Carabao Cup vs a win in league and Carabao Cup, with losses in league and Champions’ League (not including United’s win yesterday).”
They did win five of their first seven matches. By coincidence, I was at Villa last week and the Liverpool game in January. When it goes right, they are almost untouchable. When it goes bad, it goes very very bad. That’s…entertainment.
Harvey Elliott, making his first start of the season, chatted to Sky Sports.
We need to go out on the pitch and play football again. Hopefully get three more points. What happened in the past is the past and we need to go out there and perform.”
I am over the moon. You can see the quality in the team and it’s part of football. Waiting for your opportunity and hopefully I can take it.
They are a great team with talent and a great manager as well. It was always going to be a tough game and today is another one. We just need to make sure what we have been working on during the week, we apply it today.
Roberto de Zerbi has a confirmed admirer in Jurgen Klopp.
If we play like we played last year we will get a massive knock again. Brighton had a few results which did not go exactly their way but that is a completely normal situation in their development. They made a lot of changes, lost top players – one of them we got [Alexis Mac Allister] – and still played incredible football.
We expect a really tough game against the best-coached team in the league, I would say, because of where they are coming from. Graham [Potter] did a lot of good stuff and that is a really smart move from Potter to De Zerbi and they made really big steps: super consistent, different formations, different players, lineups and you always see Brighton football and I couldn’t respect that more. We have to put a few things right because you can look silly once but you should not look silly a second time.
Six changes for Brighton, with Bart Verbruggen in for Jason Steele after he let six in last week. Igor Julio, Joao Pedro, Pascal Gross, Carlos Baleba and Simon Adingra come into a team with a very different midfield, attack and defence. Verbruggen plays the home games for De Zerbi. Adam Webster had a nightmare against Oli Watkins last week and Igor Julio replaces him.
Three enforced changes for Liverpool. Jota and Jones both suspended after last week, with Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Trent Alexander-Arnold back into the starting line-up.
The teams
Brighton: Verbruggen, Veltman, Igor, Dunk, Gross, March, Baleba, Adingra, Joao Pedro, Mitoma, Ferguson. Subs: Webster, Dahoud, Gilmour, Lallana, Welbeck, Steele, van Hecke, Fati, Hinshelwood.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Elliott, Salah, Nunez, Diaz. Subs: Gomez, Endo, Konate, Adrian, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Chambers, Doak, Quansah.
Preamble
Two teams coming off defeat last week in the Premier League, and off Thursday night Europa League assignments serve up a Sunday lunchtime special. Brighton brings back bitter memories for Liverpool, who were hammered on their last trip to Sussex, a 3-0 defeat a downcast Jurgen Klopp declared the worst of his entire career. Those were the early days of Roberto De Zerbi and his counterpressing tactics caught Liverpool cold, as they have several other opponents in the time since. They can be got at as Aston Villa proved last week in demolishing them 6-1. Liverpool meanwhile look to recover from VAR-gate and the fiasco that surrounded their defeat to Tottenham, who have opened up a lead on Klopp’s team. It should be a belter this one, a feast of attacking football so 0-0 here we come….?
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