Liverpool maintained their relentless pursuit of Manchester City with a 2-0 win over Brighton to close back to within three points of the Premier League leaders.
The Reds lost for just the third time this term in their midweek clash with Inter but they marched on with an eighth straight league win in Saturday’s contest at the Amex Stadium.
Luis Diaz bravely headed Liverpool into a 19th-minute lead by getting in front of Robert Sanchez, who was perhaps fortunate to avoid any action for clattering into the forward.
Mohamed Salah added a second from the penalty spot – Liverpool’s 2,000th goal in the competition – to increase the pressure on City ahead of Monday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
Brighton had gone three league games without defeat to Liverpool but fell behind in the opening quarter of the contest to Diaz’s second goal in a Liverpool shirt.
The former Porto winger attacked Joel Matip’s chipped pass over the top and got his head to it, but he was unable to celebrate the goal after being wiped out by Sanchez.
Referee Mike Dean did not check back the incident on the monitor, meaning Sanchez stayed on the field, but Albion’s reprieve counted for little as Salah doubled the Reds’ lead.
Having missed a couple of presentable opportunities, the Egypt international fired a penalty right down the middle after Naby Keita’s shot hit Yves Bissouma on the arm.
After becoming just the second Premier League side after Manchester United to hit a landmark 2,000 goals, Liverpool sat comfortably on their lead to see through another victory.
What does it mean? Liverpool march on
Liverpool’s Champions League loss to Inter in midweek ultimately mattered little as they advanced through over the two legs, meaning they are still on for a remarkable quadruple.
Since a three-game winless run in December and January, the Reds have won their last eight Premier League games by a 21-2 aggregate scoreline.
Brighton’s form could not be any more contrasting of late, having now lost five league games in a row for the first time since April 2007 when they were a League One side.
Salah back among the goals
After hitting the post twice against Inter, Salah hit the top of the crossbar through a deflected shot here and was enduring another frustrating day before netting a penalty.
He has now reached the 20-goal mark in four of his five Premier League seasons with Liverpool, and is just the third Reds player to net 50 away goals in the competition.
Sadio shut out
With Diaz and Salah both on target, Salah had the highest expected goals (xG) tally of any Liverpool player not to score with 0.43.
The Senegal international failed to score from any of his four shots, three of which were on target, and he now has just one goal in his last four appearances.
Key Opta facts
– Liverpool have won eight consecutive Premier League games for the first time since a run of 18 successive victories ending in February 2020, on their way to winning the title in 2019-20.
– Only Steven Gerrard (212) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals for Liverpool than Salah (115 goals, 43 assists), with the forward joining Robbie Fowler on 158 goals involvements for the Reds in the competition.
– Salah became the 25th player to reach 50 away goals in the Premier League, with only Harry Kane (67) and Sergio Aguero (85) reaching the milestone in fewer away appearances than the Egypt international (91).
– Diaz became the first player to score on his first away Premier League appearance for Liverpool since Salah against Watford in August 2017.
– Brighton’s Adam Lallana has been substituted on and substituted off in four Premier League games (twice against Liverpool with the Seagulls), a joint-record in Premier League history alongside Keith Gillespie.
What’s next?
Liverpool face a tough test against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, while Brighton host another North London side in Tottenham the same day.
