Liverpool vs Brighton Player Ratings

With Arsenal facing Manchester City in the late Sunday game in Gameweek 30, all eyes were on Liverpool as the Reds faced Brighton and Hove Albion in the early fixture. It meant that a win against the Seagulls would put pressure on both teams in the late game, but things didn’t got to play for the Reds. Roberto de Zerbi’s men took an early lead, scoring from their first attack two minutes into the game.

But as time ticked on, Liverpool grew into the game with Mohamed Salah, Dominic Szoboszlai and co testing Bart Verbruggen several times before the half-time whistle. It eventually led to a debatable corner, which led to Diaz’s equalising goal in the 27th minute. After that, it was all Liverpool as Brighton created very little while the Reds peppered Verbruggen’s goal with shots.

Yet, it took a gorgeous move combined with a slick slide-rule pass from man of the match Alexis Mac Allister to find Mohamed Salah in he-can-never-miss range. And the Egyptian, who looked rusty all match, would never miss from there and ensured that his side took all three points.

Liverpool

Caoimhin Kelleher: 6

Could do absolutely nothing about Danny Welbeck’s well hit opening goal but did look mildly jittery at times although he did eventually overcome that as the game dragged on.

Conor Bradley: 5

A very very offensive defender, Bradley was more often found closer to Brighton’s goal than his own but given that the Reds did dominate possession, that was bound to happen. But his final pass let down the several good moves more often than not and he even skied a decent chance for himself.

Defensively, it also meant that Brighton spent plenty of time on his flank, with around 60% of their attacks coming down that flank. Still, Bradley did his best against the threat but needed Quansah and Endo to bail him out often.

Jarell Quansah: 6

Still growing into his position as a defender, Quansah showed signs that he could one day, maybe, be a big part of the Liverpool squad. Not quite there yet though as the 21-year-old had a few tense and jittery moments often created by the youngster although he did fix his own problems.

Virgil van Dijk: 6

Once a world class defender, Van Dijk’s injury did knock him down a few notches but the Dutchman continues to be a class act at the back and did exactly that tonight. Danny Welbeck, Jakub Moder and a few others all found out just how solid Van Dijk is for Liverpool.

Joe Gomez: 6

Right-back, center-back and even left-back, put Joe Gomez anywhere in defense and the Englishman will respond with a consistent and solid showing. That hasn’t changed and Brighton had a problems finding in-roads down that side.

Alexis Mac Allister: 9 (MOM)

Alexis Mac Allister finally looks like the player that Liverpool thought they were buying when they first bought him. He proved to be a proper menace against the Seagulls, finding pockets of space all across the field, always available for a pass and dancing away from his fair share of defenders as well. No goals for him though but without Mac Allister on the field, things would have been different for Liverpool.

He eventually created Liverpool’s lead as a slick slide rule pass from Mac Allister’s found Mo Salah, who tucked it home from practically point-blank range.

Wataru Endo: 7

A seriously underrated player in the Bundesliga, Endo has done the job for Liverpool over the last few months and played an excellent shield against Brighton. He did, however, give away more than his fair share of fouls throughout the game, eventually getting carded for an over-enthusiastic tackle.

Dominic Szoboszlai: 6

A constant threat on the ball, Szoboszlai did what he could against a tightly packed Brighton defense, creating his fair share of chances for his side. Not quite his best performance though but he was a threat even if Mac Allister was the creator-in-chief for the night.

Mohamed Salah: 8

By the end of the game, Mohamed Salah had taken a personal record of 11 shots on goal out of Liverpool’s 23, put three on target, scored one and assisted Luis Diaz’s equaliser. Not half bad for his first full game for the Reds on his return from injury but there were more than a few signs of rustiness from the Egyptian.

Darwin Nunez: 6

Unfortunately for Darwin Nunez everything seemed to happen around him and not with him, although the Uruguayan did have a few pops at goal. In the end though, his relentless running down the channels opened up the spaces for his teammates and he was eventually replaced by Harvey Elliot.

Luis Diaz: 7

A constant menace on defense and he was the first to react to a headed pass from Mohamed Salah and poked home the equaliser. But outside that, Diaz has struggled in the final third off late and that continued with the Colombian whacking more than a few shots well off target.

Substitutes:

Harvey Elliot:

Was sent on to keep the ball moving and the clock ticking which is exactly what he did.

Cody Gakpo: 5

Didn’t offer much after replacing Luis Diaz and even earned a yellow card for a needless foul on Joel Veltman.

Ryan Gravenberch: NA

Brighton and Hove Albion

Bart Verbruggen: 6

He could very little about the equaliser but beyond that, Verbruggen was barely tested by the Liverpool attackers even though he had faced more than 20 shots. The few that were on target were tame or easy to deal with for the Brighton goalkeeper. His best of the lot was an instinctive reactive save to stop Mo Salah from finding the net a second time.

Joel Veltman: 6

Often a consistent and solid defender, Veltman wasn’t quite his best tonight, giving away the ball often but he grew as the game went on. The first half may not have been one for the highlight reel, but the second half changed things especially with Baleba and co stepping up to help out.

Lewis Dunk: 6

Could have done better with Liverpool’s second goal but given the pace and speed of the move from the Reds, few defenders on the planet would have been able to stop that. However, beyond that, Dunk did the best he could against a relentless Liverpool attack. But, when Brighton did get a set-piece or two, Dunk was always there with a threatening header or two. A force in the air he is.

Jan Paul van Hecke: 7

Arguably the best of the Brighton defenders, Van Hecke was nearly everywhere, blocking passes, shots and even stepping up to tackle Darwin Nunez and co a few times. An impressive showing from the young defender but he could do nothing about either goals. Did get a yellow card for a needless tackle on Nunez.

Tariq Lamptey: 6

While injuries have taken something away from Tariq Lamptey, he continues to be a threat even if Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo did a fantastic job of shutting him down. The former was especially key, as he proved to be far too solid for Lamptey to break beyond and he was eventually replaced.

Carlos Baleba: 7

A solid shield for his defense, Baleba is proving that Brighton’s recruitment continues to thrive as both he and Simon Adingra were arguably the Seagulls’ best players on the night. Even then, there’s only so much he could have done in the end.

Pascal Gross: 5

Not his greatest performance in a Brighton shirt, Gross tends to thrive more when Brighton have the ball and are attempting to create something not the other way around. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the way this game went and it meant the German struggled to do much when he did get the ball.

Pervis Estupinan: 6

Not Pervis Estupinan of last season, the wing-back still proved to be a live-wire when called upon in the final third but he was, more often than not, forced on the back-foot.

Simon Adingra: 7

A force to be reckoned with in the first half, Simon Adingra caused all sorts of problems for Liverpool down the left, finding plenty of space behind Conor Bradley. But things didn’t quite go his way in the second half as the Reds made a few tweaks that closed down the space. In the end, he was replaced by Evan Ferguson.

Jakub Moder: 6

Brighton needed a proper box-to-box performance from Moder and the Polish midfielder responded with a proper box-to-box performance. He was a threat in the final third, a creator in midfield and was there with a helping hand defensively. On another day against another side, things could have been different.

Danny Welbeck: 7

Got the early goal with a gorgeous strike three minutes into the game and like usual, his running and pressing game was top notch but didn’t do much beyond that offensively. That was not completely his fault as his side were under the cosh for large parts of the game.

Substitutes:

Facundo Buonanotte: 5

Replaced Tariq Lamptey but didn’t offer much as his side spent most of their time on the back-foot. When they did offer a threat offensively, Buonanotte did the best he could but that’s not saying much.

Evan Ferguson: 5

Was brought on to offer more of a threat on goal whenever Brighton did have the ball but the forward has struggled off late and that continued.

Adam Lallana: 6

Nearly got a goal mere minutes after stepping onto the field, Lallana’s 100th game for Brighton was not his worst one but the Englishman did look slightly off pace at times.

Valentin Barco: NA

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