Liverpool could not turn a good week into a great week, suffering a defeat on the road against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
Arne Slot's side were going into the game off the back of a Champions League round of 16 win against Galatasaray, but were beaten 2-1 at the hands of the Seagulls.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
It was far from an ideal start for the Merseysiders, who went 1-0 down before the 15-minute mark. Manchester United academy graduate Danny Welbeck gave the home side the lead, heading into a near-empty net after a misjudgment from Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
It only took Liverpool 15 minutes to equalise, with less than 30 minutes gone in the game. After the Georgian shotstopper sent a long punt upfield, Milos Kerkez followed a poor header from Lewis Dunk into the Brighton penalty area and lobbed Bart Verburggen from inside his box to equalise.
Brighton, though, were not finished yet, and it was that man Welbeck again who bagged his second of the game. Yankuba Minteh put a searching ball into the box, which Jack Hinshelwood laid into Welbeck’s path. He converted from a matter of yards to score what turned out to be the winning goal.
It was a day to forget for Liverpool, with far too many of their players struggling.
Liverpool’s worst players vs. Brighton
It was a really poor bit of defending for Brighton’s first goal, which will certainly displease Slot in what has been a season of mistakes. One of the culprits for that opening Welbeck goal was £70k-per-week French defender Ibrahima Konate.
liverpool-anfield Related
Weekly wages: Liverpool FC 2025/26 highest-paid players
Football FanCast has gathered all the information on the richest players at Liverpool.
One of the standout players in the Premier League last season, the former RB Leipzig star hasn’t been at his best this term, to say the least.
He got out-jumped by the Englishman for the first goal, losing track of him at the back post, a huge error in the grand scheme of things, having also nearly played himself into trouble in the second half, resulting in a coming together with Welbeck inside the area.
giorgi-mamardashvili
It was certainly not the best afternoon for Mamardashvili either, who did not exactly cover himself in glory for the opening goal, like Konate. With that being said, he did play a huge part in Liverpool’s equaliser.
It wasn’t exactly a bad performance overall from the Georgian, but his error for the first goal, where he got caught out in no-man’s land and left an empty net for Welbeck to head home into, was poor.
Yet, as frustrating as those two players were, there was arguably a Liverpool player who struggled far more.
Liverpool’s worst player vs. Brighton
Slot’s change of system meant Cody Gakpo was given a new role up front in a strike partnership. However, the Dutchman failed to make his impact felt on the game, and was not much danger for the Seagulls' defence in that left channel.
Gakpo
It was perhaps not helped that his fellow striker at the Amex Stadium, Hugo Ekitike, had to be substituted off after just eight minutes with an injury. Even so, Gakpo was non-existent against Brighton.
That is perfectly highlighted by some of his stats from the game. The 26-year-old could only manage 27 touches, fewer even than Mamardashvili.
He only completed 50% of his passes and managed two shots, with just one of those finding the target.
Gakpo key stats vs. Brighton
Stat
Touches
Passes completed
Nunber of times ball lost
Dribbles completed
Shots
Shots on target
Expected goals
Stats from Sofascore
It is fascinating to see what the future will hold for the ex-PSV Eindhoven attacker. He has struggled this season, with just 12 goals and assists across all competitions, far from his best form.
It seems like it could be a summer of much change at Anfield. Konate, for example, is out of contract in a few months, and he could be one who may leave, with his performances so below par this term.
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo
Perhaps we will see Gakpo follow a similar trend. He has far longer on his current deal at Anfield, but with performances like the one against the Seagulls, where he was fairly anonymous, Liverpool might decide it is time to cut their losses.
Regardless, Slot will need more out of such an important attacker if his side are to make a serious push in the Champions League and finish in the top four.
Liverpool players huddle Related
[Liverpool man lost the ball more times than he made a pass but says "we don't know" what's wrong](https://www.footballfancast.com/liverpool-brighton-cody-gakpo-we-dont-know-whats-wrong/ "Liverpool man lost the ball more times than he made a pass but says "we don't know" what's wrong")
Liverpool were beaten at Brighton to put a massive dent in their top four hopes.