Liverpool 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Reds held after stirring Brighton fightback

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Alisson is beaten from 25 yards by Brighton's Enock MwepuEnock Mwepu is the second Zambian player to score a Premier League goal, after Patson Daka in Leicester's 4-2 home win against Manchester United on 16 October 2021

Brighton came from two goals down to secure a deserved point and deny Liverpool victory in an incident-packed game at Anfield.

Captain Jordan Henderson fired the Reds ahead from 18 yards moments after Alisson had denied Solly March at the other end following Leandro Trossard's defence-splitting pass.

Yves Bissouma, making his first start since 19 September after recovering from a knee injury, then had an effort tipped on to the post before Sadio Mane headed Liverpool into a 2-0 lead after a cross by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, on for the injured Naby Keita.

Brighton's comeback started through Enock Mwepu's first Premier League goal, a stunning attempt from 25 yards which deceived Alisson.

Graham Potter's side were impressive and they equalised when Trossard slotted home after an assist by former Liverpool player Adam Lallana.

In an entertaining game, Mane and Mohamed Salah both found the back of the net either side of half-time, but both attempts were ruled out for handball and offside respectively.

In a tense finale, Brighton thought they had won it when Trossard scored in front of The Kop, but it was ruled out for offside.

Liverpool's defence comes under scrutiny

Jurgen Klopp's side head into November with their unbeaten record intact, but the Liverpool boss will be unhappy with how his side threw away a healthy lead - and were left hanging on for a point.

For long periods on Saturday the Reds sat top of the table as Chelsea, who had started the day at the summit, were held by Newcastle before scoring three quick goals to move three points clear of Liverpool.

While the Reds were once again impressive going forward, they were vulnerable at the back from start to finish as Brighton got in behind the defence on numerous occasions.

The loss of Keita, who suffered heavy bruising in the 5-0 hammering of Manchester United last weekend, to another injury will be a concern for Klopp with a busy November to begin against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

As for Brighton, they continue to impress under Potter.

Having won at an empty Anfield last season, they relished the full house surroundings, carving out nine attempts of which six were on target.

They are moving in the right direction and now have 16 points from 10 games - six more than after the same number of games last season.

Potter, meanwhile, will be confident his side can return to winning ways with matches against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Leeds on the horizon.

There were touching scenes at the end as Lallana, who spent six years with the Reds, finally got to say goodbye to Liverpool fans - 15 months after joining Brighton.

The England midfielder walked up to The Kop at full-time to applaud supporters who in turn chanted his name.

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Liverpool

  1. Squad number1Player nameAlisson

  2. Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold

  3. Squad number5Player nameKonaté

  4. Squad number4Player namevan Dijk

  5. Squad number26Player nameRobertson

  6. Squad number8Player nameKeïta

  7. Squad number14Player nameHenderson

  8. Squad number17Player nameJones

  9. Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah

  10. Squad number9Player nameRoberto Firmino

  11. Squad number10Player nameMané

  1. Squad number15Player nameOxlade-Chamberlain

  2. Squad number18Player nameMinamino

  3. Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota

Brighton & Hove Albion

  1. Squad number1Player nameSánchez

  2. Squad number34Player nameVeltman

  3. Squad number24Player nameDuffy

  4. Squad number5Player nameDunk

  5. Squad number3Player nameCucurella

  6. Squad number12Player nameMwepu

  7. Squad number8Player nameBissouma

  8. Squad number20Player nameMarch

  9. Squad number14Player nameLallana

  10. Squad number15Player nameModer

  11. Squad number11Player nameTrossard

  1. Squad number2Player nameLamptey

  2. Squad number10Player nameMac Allister

  3. Squad number13Player nameGroß

Line-ups

Liverpool

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Alisson
  • 66Alexander-Arnold
  • 5Konaté
  • 4van Dijk
  • 26RobertsonBooked at 90mins
  • 8KeïtaSubstituted forOxlade-Chamberlainat 20'minutes
  • 14Henderson
  • 17JonesSubstituted forMinaminoat 87'minutesBooked at 88mins
  • 11Salah
  • 9FirminoSubstituted forJotaat 78'minutes
  • 10Mané

Substitutes

  • 12Gomez
  • 13Adrián
  • 15Oxlade-Chamberlain
  • 18Minamino
  • 20Jota
  • 21Tsimikas
  • 27Origi
  • 32Matip
  • 80Morton

Brighton

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Sánchez
  • 34Veltman
  • 24DuffyBooked at 90mins
  • 5Dunk
  • 3Cucurella
  • 12Mwepu
  • 8BissoumaSubstituted forMac Allisterat 60'minutes
  • 20March
  • 14LallanaSubstituted forGroßat 77'minutes
  • 15ModerSubstituted forLampteyat 66'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 11Trossard

Substitutes

  • 2Lamptey
  • 4Webster
  • 9Maupay
  • 10Mac Allister
  • 13Groß
  • 23Steele
  • 27Locadia
  • 28Roberts
  • 60Sarmiento

Live Text

  1. Match ends, Liverpool 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 2.

  2. Second Half ends, Liverpool 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 2.

  3. Foul by Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool).

  4. Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  5. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card.

  6. Foul by Andrew Robertson (Liverpool).

  7. Joël Veltman (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).

  9. Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  10. Shane Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  11. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  12. Foul by Shane Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion).

  13. Attempt blocked. Sadio Mané (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

  14. Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card.

  15. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  16. Foul by Joël Veltman (Brighton and Hove Albion).

  17. Takumi Minamino (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  18. Foul by Takumi Minamino (Liverpool).

  19. Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Attempt blocked. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

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