Brighton: Having conceded the first goal for the seventh time in 11 matches this season, Liverpool shared points at Brighton with two goals by Mohamad Salah, scored in a space of six minutes.
Having gone into the lead at 2-1 at the end of the first half, Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp said: “It is clear in the second half we should have scored and made it 3-1. There were one or two really good opportunities but because we didn’t score there we keep the game open. It was intense for both teams. I think it is the right result in the end.”
Brighton manager, Roberto De Zerbi, was furious when a second-half penalty appeal for handball by Virgil van Dijk, was turned down.
He said: “It was a clear penalty and I told the referee what I thought.”
He was booked for his angry protests and Klopp hugged him to calm him down.
Klopp said: “I have to say I cannot respect more what he’s doing. I’m a football lover – the impact he’s had on football should not be underestimated. When he got outraged, I used my age and tried to calm him down. I think he was close to the point of not coming back, I tried to calm him down. He wanted a penalty.”
De Zerbi praised Klopp: “I love Klopp. He can do what he wants because I have big respect. I consider him one of the best coaches in the world. When he says something, 99 per cent I agree with him.”
Brighton went into the lead in the 20th minute when Alexis Mac Allister was unable to take a poor pass from Van Dijk and Simon Adingra scored from 25 yards having noticed Alisson was out of position in goal.
Another 20 minutes later, came the equaliser when Nunez passed from the left to Harvey Elliott who let the ball go through to Salah who was behind him, and the Egyptian found the net from 12 yards.
Then six minutes later, in added time, Salah put Liverpool ahead with his spot kick when goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen gave the ball away with a poor pass and Dominik Szoboszlai, having got the ball fell as his shirt was pulled by Pascal Gross in the box, resulting in the penalty. Gross was not shown the red card as VAR showed Szoboszlai was not going in the direction of the goal.
Liverpool had earlier missed a chance to extend their lead to 3-1 when Ryan Gravenberch’s shot from a cross sent by Szoboszlai went against the crossbar from close range, it would have been Gravenberch’s first Premier League goal.
Finally, with 12 minutes remaining, Brighton levelled the score when Liverpool failed to block a freekick by Solly March and before Alisson could come out for the ball, Dank put the ball in. Brighton could still have won it just before the end if Joao Pedro, making his third Premier League start after joining from Watford, had not shot over the bar.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
