Brighton’s resurgence gathered pace, as they outplayed Liverpool in a performance that felt inevitable long before the final whistle – a point underlined by Liverpool greats Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch.
The Seagulls secured a 2-1 win against the Premier League champions on Saturday (March 21), thanks to a brace from Danny Welbeck. There was one mishap for Albion – with Milos Kerkez brilliantly capitalising on Lewis Dunk’s mistake – but the Seagulls ensured it made no difference to the end result.
Former Liverpool midfielder Gerrard summed it up bluntly, whilst on punditry duty for TNT Sports, admitted that the better team won. And it was hard to argue.
They had been sharp in the first half, but after the break they found another gear entirely – ‘firing with energy, intensity and quality’ – suffocating Liverpool with relentless pressure.
Brighton’s resurgence gathered pace, as they outplayed Liverpool in a performance that felt inevitable long before the final whistle – a point underlined by Liverpool greats Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)placeholder image
Brighton’s resurgence gathered pace, as they outplayed Liverpool in a performance that felt inevitable long before the final whistle – a point underlined by Liverpool greats Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
The second-half dominance from the hosts told the story of where the teams are at, at the moment.
Gerrard added: “Brighton deserved it. I thought they were excellent. They put Liverpool under massive pressure for large periods in the second half and they thoroughly deserved the three points."
Crouch didn’t dress it up: “There was only one winner in that game and it was always going to be Brighton. Liverpool lacked cutting edge, looked vulnerable defensively and couldn’t deal with the wingers.”
Brighton’s wide threat proved decisive, with Yankuba Minteh – back into the team after weeks on the sidelines – at the heart of it.
Gerrard highlighted how his ‘speed and crossing ability’ caused ‘big problems’.
And it was one such delivery – a ‘wonderful cross into such a dangerous area’ – that unlocked Liverpool.
"I thought it might have been offside in real-time but it wasn't,” Gerrard said, of Welbeck’s winner, from Jack Hinshelwood’s assist.
"It was fantastic timing from Danny – right place in the right time.”
Brighton’s second half play impressed but so to did their work rate. Running statistics don't always tell the whole story but they can provide an indicator and Brighton were on top in most of the key areas against the Reds.
Albion ran a combined 115.87kms compared to Liverpool's 107.94kms. They also jogged more and sprinted more and in total covered 6.84 per cent more distance than Slot's team.
They also had 16 shots compared to Liverpool's 12 and had an xG of 2.3, compared to 1.03.
All in all a good afternoon’s work from Brighton and the distance covered is even more impressive as Pascal Gross, 34 and James Milner, 40, were the hub of the midfield, while Lewis Dunk, 34, and Danny Welbeck, 35, were also on the pitch.
At 35, Welbeck continues to defy expectation. Crouch pointed to the striker’s sharpness and endurance, as calls intensified for the veteran to be recalled to the England squad.
"Its the most goals he's scored in the Premier League (12).
"As you can see from his leap [in celebration over 6ft 4 Lewis Dunk], he's still got that in. He’s one of those players with good fitness.
“He’s always been a team player and now he's adding goals as well.
“We called it before the game that Brighton would be a problem for Liverpool today.
"Brighton are really in-form now. Disappointing day for Liverpool but brilliant for Brighton. They were superb."
For Liverpool, it was a sobering afternoon. For Brighton, it was another statement: form, belief, and perhaps even Europe on the horizon.
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