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Football will shock you sometimes. Football is unpredictable and full of surprises which is what makes us love it. More so, in the Premier League where anyone can beat anyone. There are hierarchical before now but with the advent of quality players in the seemingly lower leagues, you can easily see the pattern shifting and attention being given to every opponent.
Giant slayer, Brighton, who won against Tottenham took on Liverpool at Anfield. You would have expected this to be a one-sided affair but not so much too considering how epileptic the form of Liverpool has been before now.
Brighton Albion humbled Liverpool on this day and outplayed Liverpool in every department. They got their second clean sheet of the season and that's the most in their entire history, so you can understand how much this victory means to them.
Liverpool surrendered their 68 games unbeaten run to Burnley and ever since then, they have struggled for form which made them slip from 1st place to 4th.
Salah should have gotten an early lead for Liverpool after Jordan Henderson's brilliant pass found him. It was an exquisite pass to him but the finishing from Salah wasn't quite it. He blazed it over the bar.
Maupay tried to respond from the other end too when he dazzled and left Liverpool's defender for the dead. He found Dan Burn who wasted the effort and blazed it over the roof as well. Shortly after too, Maupay had a half-chance that he headed over the bar too.
Brighton wasn't denied for long as a beautiful team effort with beautiful one-touch passes led to an amazing goal. A lovely ball in found Burns who headed the ball across to Alzate in the 56th minute and he bundled the ball into the back of the net. That was his second goal for Brighton.
Liverpool had no answers to give as they played second fiddle to Brighton even on home turf. They didn't deserve anything from this game.
Milner found Arnold and again, Salah blazed wide. He seemed to have lost his scoring touch for this game and left his shooting boots at home. Webster at another point brilliantly denied Salah that was already played through on goal.
Trossard constituted a menace to Liverpool's defence line and they almost added a second goal when he found Burns whose effort was blocked for a corner. The corner was taken but Liverpool's defence stood resilient and a wonderful cross found Gross who delivered a low shot that Alisson expertly saved before Henderson cleared to safety. Gross was looking for his first Brighton goal too and what better opponent to score against than Liverpool.
Mo' Salah cut a frustrating figure as he was asking for a penalty for a handball that never was. Maupay was at his best for Brighton, creating chances after chances. Every player on the night for Brighton played with courage, quality and togetherness. They produced beautiful football on the day and it's unimaginable to see Liverpool struggle against them. Brighton grew in confidence throughout the game and the win against Tottenham would always be a major confidence boost.
Liverpool would have to go back to the drawing board and fix whatever it is that is affecting their form. They need to arrest this tide else they would fall further behind the top 4 seeing how everyone else is picking points and form at the right time.
Liverpool stays in 4th place and just 2 points ahead of West Ham while Brighton stays in 15th place, 2 points ahead of Burnley and Newcastle. This season has been full of surprises and that's why we are enjoying it. On to the next one...
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