Brighton and Hove Albion 1-5 Liverpool: 5 Talking Points

Liverpool travelled to the Falmer Stadium (American Express Community Stadium) on the back of an impressive midweek win away from home against Stoke City.

After initially struggling to break down the disciplined Brighton defence, Liverpool sparked to life in the 30th minute, when Emre Can powered home a Philippe Coutinho corner and thereafter, it was only matter of how many Liverpool would score.

The Reds added further goals through Roberto Firmino (2) and Coutinho (1) before Lewis Dunk inadvertently turned the ball into his own net for the 2nd game in a row, and a solitary goal from Glenn Murray could not prove enough to stop a Liverpool juggernaut.

Here are the key talking points from the game between the Reds and the Seagulls:

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#5 Rampant Liverpool continue to recover from their defeat to Spurs

Roberto Firmino scored a brace to help Liverpool demolish Brighton away from home

It was only over a month ago that Liverpool fans were having a meltdown after a catastrophic defeat at the Wembley Stadium against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Reds had gone into the game on the back of consecutive league draws against Manchester United and Newcastle United, and the comprehensive beating that they took at the hands of the Spurs indicated a gulf between the top sides in England and the Reds.

However, the Merseysiders have bounced back from that defeat pretty well and have emerged as a side that can steamroll through the opposition as they have now won 5 of their last 6 league games.

What makes their recent run even more impressive is the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s men have been able to win their last 3 away games to remain in contention for a UEFA Champions League spot, if not the title.

After initially struggling to break down a disciplined Brighton defence and evoking fears that they might yet again slip up against a recently promoted side away from home, the Reds finally found their rhythm towards the 1st half and made sure that they did not return from their trip with another disappointing result against a promoted side.

The win helps Jurgen Klopp's side maintain pressure on the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, and strengthens Liverpool’s credentials as one of the finest attacking units in Europe.

#4 Philippe Coutinho was brilliant on the evening

Philippe Coutinho was at his magical best against Brighton.

There is no denying that Philippe Coutinho is a special player and the Brazilian was in a devastating form against the Seagulls.

It was Coutinho’s perfect delivery from the corner that created the goal scoring opportunity for Liverpool’s opener and the Brazilian soon played an important role in doubling Brighton’s misery when he found his countryman Roberto Firmino at the far post with a low cross.

However, Coutinho was not done as he drilled home a free-kick from just outside the box and then forced Lewis Dunk into inadvertently diverting the ball into his own net.

He was Liverpool’s best player on the evening, as he constantly created time and space for himself in the opposition half with a mix of brilliant runs on and off the ball and was a threat that Brighton failed to handle well, post the half-hour mark.

His performance against Brighton means that the Brazilian has now scored 6 goals and assisted another 6 in the last 10 games that he has featured in for the Reds, and Coutinho, who was on the verge of breaking millions of hearts in the recently passed summer, now continues to enthral fans with his performances.

All in all, it was a brilliant performance from the Brazilian, and should he continue to do so at a consistent rate, he could add a little more sheen to this already glittering Liverpool attack.

#3 Liverpool need to sign a centre-back. Period.

Matip's long-term injury raises concerns about Liverpool's thin defensive resources

Millions of football fans worldwide were in for a shock when Jurgen Klopp decided to reveal his line-up on Saturday. The German manager had decided to go in with a three-man defence which constituted of Dejan Lovren, Georginio Wijnaldum and Emre Can, due to a long-term injury suffered by Joel Matip, and Ragnar Klavan still recovering from an illness.

While the game against Brighton might have yielded Liverpool 3 points, let us not forget that the hosts on the evening actually managed to created adequate opportunities in the first half and could have been on level terms going into the break.

However, Brighton failed to punish Liverpool for their defensive lapses, and were eventually beaten comprehensively, but this performance should not instil a false sense of confidence amongst the Reds, as a similar defensive performance against a well-polished side could spell disaster.

While some have been questioning if Liverpool actually need a world-class centre-back or a world-class defensive midfielder in order to add muscle to their defence, the fact is that Liverpool are very thin on resources in central positions, and with us moving into that time of the year where games come thick and fast, the Reds could be in a spot of bother come the festive season.

Jurgen Klopp desperately needs to add a couple of solid centre-backs at the earliest, or it could mean continued trouble for the club.

#2 Brighton will rue their missed chances

Glenn Murray was guilty of missing a glorious opportunity to put his side ahead early in the game

Brighton went into the game against the Reds on the back of an impressive game against Manchester United that saw the Seagulls stretch Jose Mourinho’s men right until the end and also earn the Portuguese tactician's praise.

Given their heroics in the last game, we were expecting that the Chris Hughton-managed unit would be up to the challenge of handling a side that have not taken great pleasure in playing recently-promoted sides over the last few years.

What followed though, was against common expectations, as it was a complete demolition by Liverpool, who refused to loosen their grip on the game and were comfortable victors. However, Brighton would feel that they themselves are to blame for their loss as the Seagulls and their top scorer, Glenn Murray, failed to take their chances and were duly punished.

It was a perfect cross from Isaiah Brown that found its way to Murray, and despite a host of options, that included laying off the ball for his teammates, as well as going for the goal himself, the Englishman fluffed his chances and thus lost the opportunity to put his side against the visitors.

Over their recent years, Liverpool have struggled against a defensively disciplined line-up who have scored first and that could have been the case had Brighton taken their chances and the Seagulls will need to improve on their performance in front of the goal to ensure that they remain a Premier League club for the upcoming season.

#1 Brighton set for relegation battle, unless they find their shooting boots

Hughton could find himself in a spot of bother by the end of 2017 if his side continues to be goal shy

After struggling to win their opening 3 games in the Premier League, the Seagulls steadied their ship from the Matchday 8 of the Premier League, which saw them go 5 games unbeaten.

However, there remains no doubt that the Seagulls are headed towards a relegation battle and that is perhaps on the account of a hectic schedule as well as their inability to score frequently.

The side failed to take their chances against a susceptible Liverpool defence, and their inability to create frequent goalscoring opportunities against a make-shift defence should result in the Brighton fans being worried about the club’s status as a Premier League club.

The Seagulls have registered just 2.7 shots on target per game, after their game against the Reds, and only Swansea have a worse record in the Premier League thus far, and it is a statistic which they need to improve upon to ensure that they can turn results in their favour, as it is goals that win you games and sadly for Brighton, there haven’t been many so far this season.

Chris Hughton’s men have already faced Manchester United and Liverpool and their fixtures until the end of the year constitutes of games against Tottenham Hotspur (A), Burnley (H), Watford (H), Chelsea (H) and Newcastle United (H) and the strenuous series of games could very well mean that Brighton could already be in a spot of bother.