Liverpool defeated Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon to get back to winning ways and move temporarily up to sixth place.
The hosts got off to a flying start and took the lead after just 46 seconds as Hugo Ekitike capitalised on an error, and made no mistake with his finish, smashing it past Bart Verbruggen.
In the 51st minute, Brighton missed a golden opportunity to level up the match as Diego Gomez hit the post from just a few yards, and that proved to be costly, as right on the hour mark, Liverpool doubled their lead through Ekitike again, as he headed home from a Mohamed Salah corner and sealed all three points.
Match Highlights
To follow soon...
Liverpool Player Ratings
liverpool brighton
GK: Alisson Becker - 8/10
Produced a superb save in the first half to deny Gomez a clear opportunity. Outside of that save in the 14th minute, Alisson didn't have a single save to make and wasn't asked to do much with the ball at his feet either.
RB: Joseph Gomez - 8/10
Enjoyed a brilliant start to the match, assisting Ekitike's opening goal after just 45 seconds. Gomez's time on the pitch lasted just 26 minutes, as he picked up an injury and had to be taken off.
CB: Ibrahima Konate - 8/10
Defensively and physically dominant. Konate dealt with the threat of Brighton's attackers very well, but still had some moments where he looked quite shaky and made a few silly fouls.
CB: Virgil van Dijk - 7.5/10
Didn't put a foot wrong with the ball at his feet and was never really defensively challenged during the match.
LB: Milos Kerkez - 7.5/10
Played with plenty of energy up and down the left flank. Although Kerkez didn't really produce much going forward, defensively, he was very good against a talented winger in Minteh.
CM: Alexis Mac Allister - 6.5/10
Didn't really have any significant involvement in the match aside from sending Salah through on goal with a nice pass. Mac Allister saw hardly any of the ball compared to his fellow midfielders, and at times looked tired and timid, especially in the tackle.
CM: Ryan Gravenberch - 7.5/10
Had some really tidy moments with the ball at his feet and managed to start several quick counter-attacks for his side, which probably should've resulted in some goals.
CM: Curtis Jones - 8/10
Saw plenty of the ball and was very effective with it. Jones was always looking to get Liverpool forward with his passing, and also had several bright moments where he took the ball and burst through the midfield.
RW: Dominik Szoboszlai - 7.5/10
Put in a solid performance considering he was moved to right back in the first half. The Hungarian put some good crosses into the box and was defensively sound.
ST: Hugo Ekitike - 9/10 (Man of the Match)
The difference maker for Liverpool. Ekitike was a nightmare for the Brighton defenders to deal with all afternoon, and he took his two goals very well.
LW: Florian Wirtz - 8/10
Arguably his best performance in a Liverpool shirt so far. The German worked his socks off, but also created some really good chances for his teammates and showed real quality with the ball at his feet.
SUB: Mohamed Salah - 8.5/10
The Egyptian showed glimpses of being back to his best. Salah provided a very good assist for Ekitike's second goal and was by far Liverpool's best and most effective creative threat.
SUB: Andrew Robertson - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Alexander Isak - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Federico Chiesa - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
mohamed salah liverpool Related
Paul Merson Blasts Mohamed Salah Before Liverpool vs Brighton as 'Ridiculous' Footage Emerges
Paul Merson has blasted Mohamed Salah as 'ridiculous' footage emerged before Liverpool's clash with Brighton.
Brighton Player Ratings
Georginio Rutter and Milos Kerkez in action for Liverpool and Brighton in the Premier League
GK: Bart Verbruggen - 5.5/10
Didn't have much to do outside of making a few routine saves. Verbruggen arguably could've done better to stop Ekitike's opening goal, as although it was hit with power, it was basically directed down the middle of the goal.
RB: Mats Wieffer - 5/10
Had a really tough afternoon against Wirtz. Wieffer struggled with the German's energy and was second best pretty much every time he was in a defensive one-on-one situation.
CB: Jan Paul van Hecke - 6/10
Decent with the ball at his feet, but had a few moments where he looked to struggle to deal with Ekitike's pace and power.
CB: Lewis Dunk - 5.5/10
Really struggled with the pace of Liverpool's attackers. Dunk was caught out of position several times, which led to Liverpool almost scoring several goals on the counter-attack.
LB: Ferdi Kadioglu - 5.5/10
Showed some quality in the final third, but really struggled to deal with Salah.
CM: Jack Hinshelwood - 5.5/10
Played with plenty of energy, but lacked the quality on the ball to make things happen. Hinshelwood saw quite a bit of the ball, but mainly played it sideways and backwards instead of moving Brighton up the pitch.
CM: Carlos Baleba - 4/10
Seemed to really struggle with the pace and intensity of the match. Baleba also didn't do much with the ball at his feet, which is surprising, as he is a player who is typically technically brilliant, and he was disappointing before heading to AFCON.
AM: Brajan Gruda - 7/10
Looked very bright and energetic in the final third. The German had some tidy moments with the ball at his feet and went close to scoring in the 56th minute.
RW: Yankuba Minteh - 5.5/10
Dealt with quite easily by Kerkez. Minteh tried his best to impose his pace and power, but was unsuccessful most of the time.
ST: Georginio Rutter - 6/10
Had a few bright moments in the final third, but they were mainly creative moments which favoured his teammates. In front of goal, Rutter didn't really have a sniff.
LW: Diego Gomez - 5/10
Missed an absolute sitter in the 51st minute and was lucky to have remained on the pitch after kicking Wirtz in the chest.
SUB: Yasin Ayari - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Kaoru Mitoma - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Danny Welbeck - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: Charalampos Kostoulas - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.
SUB: James Milner - N/A
Didn't do much after coming on.