Premier League champions Liverpool booked their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield. Mohamed Salah scored and assisted as the hosts progressed comfortably.
Curtis Jones opened the scoring just before half-time, finishing from close range. After the break, Salah set up Dominik Szoboszlai, who powered home to double the lead. Salah then sealed the win from the spot, blasting past Jason Steele after being fouled by Pascal Gross.
Brighton threatened at times but were denied by Alisson, who saved from Diego Gomez, while Lewis Dunk also went close. It was a strong response from Arne Slot’s side after defeat to Manchester City, having also beaten Sunderland in midweek.
Both Arne Slot and Fabian Hurzeler named strong line-ups, but Liverpool’s quality told. Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo combined in the move that led to Szoboszlai’s goal, highlighting Liverpool’s fluid attacking play. Salah’s display was his best since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Many times this season when we played here, it wasn’t possible to press, because of the style of play of the other team,” Arne Slot told TNT Sports after the game.
“As I said before the game, today we have two teams that have a similar style. That want to bring the ball out from the back, as you could see in our second goal, and two teams who want to press high.
“The modern Premier League is not that much about bringing the ball out from the back, it’s a lot about the direct style of play and a lot about set-pieces.
“But today we faced a team that wanted to bring the ball out from the back, and then I think we showed that we are still as good as last season off the ball. But the playing style of opponents has massively changed throughout the league, but particularly against us.”
Liverpool have lifted the FA Cup eight times, most recently under Jurgen Klopp in 2022, beating Chelsea, managed by Thomas Tuchel, in a penalty shootout at Wembley.
Liverpool will take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in round five of the competition. The Reds have been drawn as the away team for their FA Cup tie against Wolves. The fifth-round matches are scheduled for the weekend of March 7-8.
We will face Wolves in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup 👊 pic.twitter.com/E94qlV7fEb
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 16, 2026
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