"The best player on the pitch" - Jamie Carragher hails Liverpool star's first-half performance in PL fixture against Brighton

Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher praised Alexis Mac Allister's first-half performance against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Sunday, March 31.

Danny Welbeck scored the game's first goal just 87 seconds in, giving the Seagulls the lead and shocking the Reds with an early disadvantage. However, goals from Luis Diaz (27') and Mohamed Salah (65') helped Jurgen Klopp's men reverse the tide and win the match.

Liverpool mixed chaos and energy in the first half, particularly with their onslaught on Brighton's defense, but their lack of accuracy affected them. Players like Salah wasted crucial opportunities and the Seagulls' quick counterattacks sometimes made things more difficult for the Reds.

At half time, Jamie Carragher gave Mac Allister extra recognition. The Argentine midfielder held his own in a chaotic midfield battle while providing impressive passes. One particular pass jumped out as the reason Carragher thought so highly of Mac Allister. The 25-year-old sent a deftly placed pass over the defense for Mohamed Salah, who failed to capitalise on it.

Carragher told Sky Sports (via HITC):

“Mac Allister has been absolutely outstanding in this first 39 minutes, the best player on the pitch."

Mac Allister completed 58/63 passes for Liverpool, made five key passes, created one big chance and won 5/13 duels.

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Jurgen Klopp praises Liverpool's winning goal

Mohamed Salah scored the game-winning goal in the 65th minute to help Liverpool defeat Brighton 2-1. The goal was the product of an incredible play, as Mac Allister received a pass from Dominik Szoboszlai, before providing the assist for Salah to score.

With particular praise for the goal, Klopp showed his appreciation after the game, saying (via GOAL):

"That is an unbelievable ball [from Szoboszlai]. It is the creativity and the quality, seeing that. He sees Macca, his first touch is incredible and then he sees Mo. How wasteful we were at all the other moments it was good we had this genius football moment to finish the game off."

In addition, Klopp praised Brighton's impressive display and noted the difficulty they posed:

"Brighton have incredible quality. That is the measure I have for how good we were today because I really respect them. They had chances, they took more risks all of a sudden and we got slightly tired. We deserved to win the game. That is what you want and then on top of that it is really cool."

This moved Liverpool two points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League title race, as the Gunners drew against Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.