Brighton played out an engrossing 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Two front-foot teams combined for an entertaining match defined by mistakes. Simon Adingra pounced upon an early error from Virgil van Dijk but Mohamed Salah's quick-fire brace had the visitors ahead going into half-time.
Lewis Dunk equalised for his boyhood club in the 78th minute, setting up a helter-skelter conclusion to a contest that eventually ended in a fair share of the spoils.
How the game unfolded
After consecutive defeats to Brighton earlier this year, Jurgen Klopp came into Sunday's contest looking "to put a few things right". Yet, his Liverpool side again started groggily.
An even opening 20 minutes was punctured by a lazy pass from Virgil van Dijk in the vague direction of Alexis Mac Allister. Simon Adingra leapt ahead of the former Brighton man to steal the ball inside Liverpool's defensive third, taking only one stride before catching out Alisson with an early effort into the bottom corner, sending the visitors behind for the fifth away game on the spin.
After each previous stumble on the road, Klopp's side had found an equaliser. Brighton did their best to help Liverpool maintain their impressive comeback record.
Revelling in the matador-style bait of the press that Roberto De Zerbi has instilled on the south coast, Brighton did manage to whisk the ball through the thirds on several occasions while their lead was intact. However, Liverpool need no invitation to press and punished Brighton's lapses in possession twice in rapid succession.
Lewis Dunk was guilty of the stray pass which his former teammate Mac Allister gratefully seized upon, sparking a seven-second blitz through the middle of Brighton's scattered rearguard which Salah crisply finished off.
Barely three minutes had elapsed before Pascal Gross was mugged in his own penalty box. Dominik Szoboszlai greedily pounced upon Bart Verbruggen timid pass and was hauled down by Gross. Salah stuffed the subsequent spot kick into the bottom corner.
Klopp, recognising the threat that Brighton posed for large swathes of the first half, reshuffled his midfield during the interval. Ryan Gravenberch replaced Harvey Elliott. Within ten minutes of the restart, Szoboszlai barrelled into Brighton's box and squared for his fellow summer arrival only to watch Gravenberch spoon his effort onto the crossbar from six yards out.
While Liverpool were collectively caught in two minds, wary of pushing for a third without much defensive solidity to lean upon, De Zerbi had no qualms about rejigging Brighton into a more attacking shape.
Solly March was unshackled from his unfamiliar left-back berth, combining with Kaoru Mitoma to win a free kick which he whipped in devilishly. Andy Robertson, embodying Liverpool's indecision, let the set piece fly across the box and onto Dunk's outstretched shin.
Building down the opposite flank, Adingra created a golden chance for Joao Pedro to fire Brighton ahead in the dying embers of a see-saw match.
Brighton player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bart Verbruggen - 4/10 - Did Gross no favours with a weak pass towards his teammate who had a red-shirted shadow.
RB: Joel Veltman - 6/10 - Limited his number of one-on-one duels with Luis Diaz.
CB: Lewis Dunk - 6/10 - Capable of incisive and destructive passes but made up for his error with an equaliser.
CB: Igor - 5/10 - Managed to avoid the mistakes of his teammates for the most part.
LB: Solly March - 5/10 - Forced into an unusual defensive position after a glut of defensive injuries, March was caught out of position for Liverpool's equaliser.
CM: Pascal Gross - 4/10 - Dropping between the centre-backs to lubricate Brighton's intricate buildup, Gross was caught trying to play out in his own box while conceding a penalty.
CM: Carlos Baleba - 7/10 - Strode forward purposefully in possession and gobbled up any loose balls within his wingspan.
AM: Joao Pedro - 6/10 - Menacingly lurked between the lines in the first half but faded as Liverpool belatedly plugged some gaps as the match wore on.
RW: Simon Adingra - 8/10 - A picture of perpetual motion down the right flank.
ST: Evan Ferguson - 6/10 - Dovetailed devilishly with Pedro, befuddling Liverpool's backline with a flurry of constant movement.
LW: Kaoru Mitoma - 7/10 - One of the few Brighton players to improve in the second half, aided by the support March offered by pushing forward.
Substitutes
SUB: Danny Welbeck (61' for Ferguson) - 5/10
SUB: Jan Paul van Hecke (63' for Igor) - 5/10
SUB: Ansu Fati (89' for Pedro) - N/A
Subs not used: Steele (GK), Hinshelwood, Webster, Dahoud, Gilmour, Lallana
Manager
Roberto De Zerbi - 6/10 - The Italian's rewarding style is laced with risk which was exposed on Sunday afternoon. The team's unrelenting desire to attack was also on full display.
Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson Becker - 5/10 - Failed to scamper across his line to rebuff Brighton's opener but denied Adingra from point-blank range after the break.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5/10 - Didn't exert his familiar influence over proceedings with more of a subdued role.
CB: Joel Matip - 5/10 - Not quite as flustered as his defensive colleague.
CB: Virgil van Dijk - 4/10 - Liable to get dragged upfield by Brighton's withdrawn forwards and lacking the recovery pace of old to hurry back into position.
LB: Andy Robertson - 3/10 - Couldn't shackle Adingra at all and offered little going forward himself. Just as ineffective at defending a decisive set piece.
CM: Harvey Elliott - 6/10 - Making his first Premier League start of the season, Elliott was unfortunate to get hooked at half-time after a subservient opening 45 minutes backing up Salah and Alexander-Arnold in both halves.
CM: Alexis Mac Allister - 7/10 - On his return to the Amex, Mac Allister grew into the game, getting a grip of midfield after the break.
CM: Dominik Szoboszlai - 8/10 - The firm fan favourite only added to his swollen Appreciation Society with another all-action display.
RW: Mohamed Salah - 8/10 - The razor sharp edge to Liverpool's attack, Salah still delivered even with a pared-back performance.
ST: Darwin Nunez - 6/10 - Unlike most strikers, Nunez's first thought seemed to always be to tee up a teammate rather than shoot himself; that selflessness led to two Liverpool goals.
LW: Luis Diaz - 5/10 - Got more joy when drifting into a narrow position.
Substitutes
SUB: Ryan Gravenberch (46' for Elliott) - 6/10 - Quickly caught up to the speed of the game, regularly crashing into Brighton's box.
SUB: Ibrahima Konate (73' for Matip) - 5/10
SUB: Joe Gomez (79' for Alexander-Arnold) - N/A
Subs not used: Adrian (GK), Chambers, Tsimikas, Quansah, Endo, Doak
Manager
Jurgen Klopp - 6/10 - Set his side up to force the errors which Brighton made but couldn't get Liverpool to build on their advantage.
Player of the match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
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This article was originally published on 90min as Brighton 2-2 Liverpool: Player ratings as Reds pegged back after Salah brace.
