Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Liverpool: 5 Hits and Flops, Premier League 2018/19

Liverpool are proving substantial at the back as they grind out yet another 1-0 win which is crucial for any title challenging team. The Reds looked off the pace in the first half and lacked any sorts of creativity and was not able to penetrate the Seagulls midfield.

The Reds entered into the second part of the game in entirely different shape with much more precision in their passion and trenchancy in their way to go past players. Mohamed Salah was running circus inside the penalty box, and he was tripped by Pascal Gross who proved to be the culprit for the hosts. The Egyptian took the penalty and calmly slotted it past the goalkeeper Button.

The entire defence of Liverpool held well to secure all three points despite the early substitutions made by Houghton throw in Anthony Knockaert, Florin Andone, and Beram Kayal. Despite having supreme organization throughout the game, Brighton were awful in their final third helping Liverpool's course.

Jurgen Klopp would certainly demand more from his players following this game, but he would be more than happy to take three points and a clean sheet away after two back-to-back defeats in the Premier League and the FA Cup against Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

With this win, they have extended their lead at the top to seven points, and Manchester City will be in action on Monday night against Wolverhampton Wanderers. In this piece, we shall look at five hits and flops from the game.

#1 Hit - Fabinho

Dejan Lovren was forced to be withdrawn on Monday night, Liverpool had selection crisis ahead of this game. Jurgen Klopp's side had only one centre-back at disposal - Virgil Van Dijk. It is a no brainer that the Brazilian is having to play in this position with his tremendous versatility.

Throughout the game, he was able to keep Glenn Murray silent who was struggling to find his feet. It was an even contest with the striker, but the Liverpool makeshift defender was able to win four aerial duels and clear the ball five times which is the most by any player.

During the second half, Pascal Gross took a shot from close range, but he stood up to the task by closing down the attacker and was able to block the shot. That interception proved to be crucial as the Reds were able to rely on Salah's spot-kick which proved to be the difference.

#2 Flop - Pascal Gross

Brighton & Hove Albion make the flop list because of the one cheap mistake which proved to be the thin line of difference in this game. During the first half, Pascal Gross was entirely bossing the midfield by winning the second balls and intercepting the play to frustrate Liverpool.

However, the Reds started the second half on a brighter note. The hosts should have stayed calm when they had bags of possession, but the German International who went to win the ball back pulled Salah and tripped his leg inside the penalty box which was enough to convince the referee Kevin Friend to award a spot-kick which was converted by the Egyptian.

Following that goal, he looked tired and mentally did not have enough to win the battle in the middle of the park anymore. Had he tried to close him down rather than tripping the opposition, it would have been an entirely different game altogether.

#3 Hit - Jurgen Locadia

Jurgen Locadia must be kicking himself to end up on the losing side. The striker operated through the left wing and gave a constant headache to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Gini Wijnaldum who looked to be covering him.

He looked the only attacker who looked like making things happen in the final third as Glenn Murray did not help his teammate's cause throughout the game. During the first half, he put in an excellent cross and Murray was not able to capitalize with it.

He did force a save from Alisson Becker in the first half after shooting from long range. But, his contributions to the defensive part of the game with an enormous work rate to stop Xherdan Shaqiri and Trent Alexander Arnold proved to be decisive.

His runs through the left wing would have made Jurgen Klopp throughout the game. His link-up play with Bong certainly caused some problems to Liverpool's defence, but he was not able to get past Fabinho or Van Dijk.

#4 Flop - Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane played his hundredth game for Liverpool in all competitions today. But, he would not have been proud of the performance he put in against Brighton today. Whenever the Seagulls were caught out on the break, Mane had plenty of chances to run into the penalty box and deliver the balls.

Instead, he slowed down the tempo of the game and ran out of ideas in one-on-one situations. It is fair to say that Martin Montoya would have been happy with the way he managed the Senegalese International throughout the game.

Despite nil creativity from the midfield, Mane never dropped deep to penetrate the ball from the middle of the park. During the first half, Roberto Firmino was trying to do the same, but Brighton did not allow time and space. But when Mohamed Salah did that in the second half, the Reds were able to move the ball quickly and were able to make the transition quicker. He did not have even moment in this game.

#5 Hit - Andy Robertson

It looks like every time the Scottish Captain takes up the field, he is going to be reliant for the Reds. It is very difficult for Liverpool fans to name the worst performances of Andy Robertson after he made his debut during the last season.

When Anthony Knockaert came on, he was giving plenty of problems by playing through the middle. But, Andy Robertson totally kept him in check by forcing to drift into the middle where they looked solid defensively.

Due to Mane's poor outing, he was solely trying to create chances from the left flank. He nearly registered an assist when he drilled in an excellent cross which was so close to Roberto Firmino who could not get a proper connection with the ball to slot inside the back of the net. Despite not being at his full best, he was one of Liverpool's best players on the pitch in this game.

Edited by Kishan Prasad