Brighton 1-1 Liverpool: Premier League – live reaction!

Jurgen Klopp’s post-match interview should be imbued with a certain belligerence. He was in a bad mood for most of the game, never mind after the penalty.

“You were right, Rob,” says Patrick Crumlish. “This Liverpool team doesn’t do hard-fought 1-0 wins.”

The more I see that Brighton penalty, the less sure I am. I’m not having that it was a clear and obvious error.

Here’s Danny Welbeck “It was a soft penalty, but we’ll take it. In today’s game, with VAR… I touched the ball before him and he kicked me before he kicked the ball.”

“This new sport of penaltyball is going places,” says Niall Mullen.

Liverpool go top of the league, though they won’t feel like celebrating after a frustrating afternoon at the Amex Stadium. It was another VAR special, with two Brighton penalties and two disallowed goals for Liverpool. There were the usual injuries too – Maupay, Lallana and Milner all had to go off.

90+7 min Jahanbakhsh almost nicks it for Brighton with a shot that hits Phillips and deflects wide.

90+4 min Klopp was sarcastically, and aggressively, clapping the assistant referee after the penalty was given. I love Klopp but he’s a bit out of order there.

Gross rams the penalty straight down the middle!

PENALTY GIVEN!

Andy Robertson is not impressed. Jurgen Klopp is laughing.

90+1 min Stuart Attwell is looking at the monitor!

90 min Welbeck nicked the ball away from Robertson, who kicked his foot a split-second later. I think it was probably a (very soft) foul, but I’m not so sure it’s a clear and obvious error.

90 min: VAR check for a Brighton penalty! This might be given.

89 min “Rob, I partially agree with you,” says Patrick Crumlish. “Liverpool don’t do 1-0 wins, no, but they do hard-fought single-goal victories. Last season they made a habit of it. It was City couldn’t do. When City when last year, it was by 3 or 4 goals, but they couldn’t eke out the tight wins. Liverpool beat Leicester 2-1, West Ham 3-2, Brighton 2-1, Bournemouth 2-1 last year, and that’s off the top of my head.”

Yeah, I meant the specific scoreline. They’re one of the best teams I’ve ever seen at coming from behind to win by a single goal.

88 min Gross’s corner is chested (!) down by Firmino in his own six-yard box and booted clear by one of his team-mates.

87 min Welbeck gets behind Phillips on the left side of the area. Phillips recovers really well to concede a corner.

87 min One-nil is never a safe lead, but a Brighton equaliser would be firmly against the run of play.

85 min “I don’t support five substitutes in a match, but I do think that a substituted player should be allowed back if a manager so chooses,” says Gary Naylor. “That would allow players to be protected if they feel a twinge in the knowledge that, if the game changes, they can return.”

That’s veering too close to Big Bash territory for my liking.

That wrongly awarded free-kick leads to the second goal. Robertson curled it into the middle, where Mane planted a fine downward header past Ryan.

82 min White makes an extremely good tackle on Jota – and is booked for it.

81 min: Great chance for Brighton! March broke down the left and hit a terrific cross towards the unmarked Jahanbakhsh at the near post. He missed the header completely, and the unsighted Robertson kneed the ball over his own bar. Jahanbakhsh should have scored; Robertson almost did.

80 min Brighton have offered very little going forward since Connolly went off. Jahanbakhsh makes a promising break down the right but his cross is tidied up at the near post by Phillips.

79 min This Liverpool side don’t really do hard-fought 1-0 wins, but that’s what they are heading for today.

78 min “Do you think the Premier League will bring in five subs this season?” says Ben Jackson. “Given the number of injuries it does seem to be a player welfare issue. I also think some managers are reserving one of their tactical subs so they’re not reduced to 10 men should a player go down with a hamstring injury in the last 20 minutes.”

I think they will, pretty soon probably, though really it’s a band aid for a bullet wound.

77 min Now Nat Phillips is down after landing awkwardly. Jurgen Klopp is agape as he watches on. It looks like Phillips will be okay to continue.

76 min If it stays like this, Liverpool will have kept consecutive clean sheets in the league for the first time since June. Who needs Virgil/Joe/Trent?

75 min “Imagine substituting Maradona to rest him,” says Gary Naylor. “I suspect that the director might train a camera on him and the ‘Apologies for any bad language’ graphic at hand.”

74 min March’s free-kick is comfortable saved by Alisson, falling to his right. In other news, Jones has gone to right-back.

74 min Milner is replaced by Curtis Jones. I’m not sure yet who will play at right-back because Brighton have a free-kick.

73 min Welbeck is also down after a clash of heads with Phillips.

72 min Now James Milner is down with what looks like a hamstring injury.

71 min Ah jeez, this is pretty sad: the substitute Adam Lallana, who was only on the field for eight minutes, has gone off injured. He’s run straight down the tunnel to be replaced by Ali Jahanbakhsh.

70 min Liverpool have the game under control at the moment. They’ve been much better in the second half.

68 min “Given you’ve broken your own no more Maradona rule, I feel entitled to return to the subject,” says Richard Hirst. “The two greatest national sides I’ve seen were the 1970 Brazil team and the Dutch team throughout the 1970s ( a new debate – the greatest team not to win the World Cup?): you can see Messi fitting seamlessly into those sides, Maradona not so much. Conclusion – if nothing else, Messi is more of a team player.”

I don’t agree with that. Liam Brady makes a good point about Maradona the team player in this fine tribute. Anyway, enough!

67 min “I think it’s totally wrong to equate Maradona as a ‘luxury’ player who could spray passes about but not a lot else,” says Mark Hooper. “He was utterly committed on the pitch, built like a brick wotsit (albeit a short, stout one) and would run himself into the ground.”

That’s true. I’m still not sure he’d love the concept of the high press, though.

66 min Connolly was also pretty aggrieved to be taken off, but Salah has taken it to a whole new level.

64 min Mo Salah is replaced by Sadio Mane. He is absolutely fuming about that.

63 min Adam Lallana comes on to replace Aaron Connolly, which is a bit of a surprise.

62 min Brighton appeal for a penalty after a handball from Fabinho. It probably would have been given but Trossard was offside.

Jota took that so well. Salah tucked the ball round the corner to find him on the edge of the area. He pushed the ball between Trossard and White and started to make an angled run into the area. Then he dummied Webster and Dunk by shaping to shoot. Finally, having made the space, he dragged a precise low shot back across Ryan and into the corner. Superb stuff.

Diogo Jota gives Liverpool the lead with another terrific goal!

57 min It must be a while since Liverpool failed to score in consecutive matches (edit: it happened at Watford and Chelsea in February/March this year). They have 33 minutes to ensure that doesn’t happen.

54 min: Good effort from Welbeck! That was really nice play, at least the first part. Welbeck poked a bouncing ball away from Fabinho on the halfway line and ran into space down the right. He moved into the area, cut back inside Henderson and drove a low left-footed shot that was comfortably saved by Alisson. In hindsight he should probably have tried to find Connolly or Trossard at the far post.

53 min There’s definitely a greater urgency to Liverpool’s play. He’s best known for his baseball cap, but I suspect Jurgen Klopp also has a pretty powerful hairdryer.

52 min “It would have been fascinating to see Maradona play in the modern day,” says Chris. “Growing up in the 80s and 90 you had loads of players (Le Tiss, Hagi, Molby, Ginola, Carlton Palmer) that offered basically nothing to the team in terms of fitness or positional play but were first pick every week due to sheer talent.

“Modern teams (Bayern and Liverpool I’m looking at you) have no place for such players and are simultaneously more effective and all the poorer for it. I think Ronaldinho at Barca was the last player who excelled for a top team and fitted that mould. This brings us to Maradona because he was that good that he’d have to play for a top side. I do fear that modern coaches wouldn’t know what to do with him and there’s a risk he’d end up being a 1980s Ozil.”

50 min Wijnaldum slides a pass down the inside-left channel, whose cross-shot on the turn flashes across the face of goal. Liverpool look a bit livelier than they did for much of the first half.

48 min “As I lift the 2020 Guess the Job trophy I must hand it over to the nurses of the world,” says Mary Waltz. “The absolute heroes of the Covid epidemic and after Rashford has finished feeding the kids he should shift his focus to raising the wages of nurses. Underpaid life savers.”

Amen to that.

47 min March plays a penetrative pass to find Connolly on the left. His first touch isn’t great, however, and that allows Phillips to come across and clear.

47 min “I think the problem with VAR is simple – the definition of a ‘clear and obvious’ error is totally misunderstood in soccer,” says Madan Raja. “Cricket and NFL have the video assistant. But the on-field call has more weight. The goal is not to get to 100% in cricket and NFL. It is to avoid a blunder. In soccer, I think people are trying to design a perfect system.”

Yes, that’s an excellent point. Another difference, certainly with cricket, is the culture of entitlement and intolerance in football, which means every single decision is a DISGRACE one way or another. Anyway, that’s enough of VAR, at least until the next DISGRACEFUL decision.

Liverpool have made a half-time change: Jordan Henderson replaces Neco Williams, which means James Milner will go to right back.

“Much-needed halftime for Klopp & co,” says Rob Moore. “No rhythm or pace to their play. So many times the fullback has been building up speed with space ahead of them, and the pass has been to foot, forcing a stop and cut back, killing any momentum. Brighton have done very well to keep the front four quiet, as well as create a few excellent chances of their own, but the addition of Henderson & Mané could and should change things. ‘Delicately poised’ or something like that.”

Yes, it’s odd to see Liverpool play so sluggishly. I suspect Jurgen Klopp is impolitely advising against a repeat in the second half.