Liverpool slumped to a 10th league loss and suffered another major setback in their push for Champions League qualification as Brighton secured a deserved 2-1 win, a match that also saw Hugo Ekitike forced off through injury.
Match Report
Arne Slot had commended his team on Wednesday for producing their “best performance of the season” after their emphatic win over Galatasaray, but they were outplayed on the south coast as Danny Welbeck netted twice, either side of Milos Kerkez’s fortunate equaliser.
The pressure continues to build on Slot, with Liverpool now enduring their highest number of league defeats in a season since 2016. They are also without a win in their last three games, leaving them in fifth place—two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and just one ahead of Chelsea, who could overtake them with a result against Leeds tonight, live on Sky Sports.
Slot was already missing injured pair Mo Salah and Alisson at the Amex when Ekitike collided with former Liverpool midfielder James Milner within the opening five minutes and was unable to continue. However, the Liverpool boss indicated it is “not something that’s going to keep him out for three months”.
Brighton quickly made matters worse, with Welbeck punishing poor defending from Ibrahim Konate by heading in at the far post after Diego Gomez had flicked the ball across the six-yard area.
Liverpool pushed back, with Alexis Mac Allister seeing his header saved by Bart Verbruggen before Lewis Dunk’s misplaced header back to his goalkeeper was sharply read by Kerkez, who finished with precision.
Brighton stepped up after the break, and Liverpool struggled to keep up. Minteh impressed down the left, and his delivery was squared in the box by Jack Hinshelwood for Welbeck to score his second.
Giorgi Mamardashvili, deputising for Alisson, made key saves to deny Gomez and Welbeck, while Verbruggen prevented Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo from equalising, as Liverpool fell to yet another defeat.
