Salah keeps Reds on record trail
Liverpool are just three wins from smashing points total... as Mo targets Golden Boot
THE juggernaut continues to overpower all before them. This was Premier League victory No 30 for Liverpool. This didn’t develop into the stroll it had threatened to when Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson put the champions 2-0 ahead inside eight minutes.
But when all was said and done here, Liverpool had taken another step closer to history.
Of course, Jurgen Klopp’s side are becoming accustomed to finding themselves in that position. But with their first Premier League title wrapped up, you can only applaud their relentlessness.
When Brighton threw the kitchen sink at them, they stood firm like their lives depended on it. Stuff of true champions.
Klopp made four changes from the side that had defeated Aston Villa on Sunday, notably handing Neco Williams his full Premier League debut following impressive cameos from the bench.
Graham Potter, too, was in a tinkering mood, making three alterations from their vital win at Norwich — Dale Stephens preferred ahead of Yves Bissouma in the heart of midfield.
Easier said than done, of course, but victory against the champions would have virtually assured the Seagulls of their Premier League status for another season.
Liverpool had a far loftier ambition: breaking Manchester City’s Premier League points record of 100. And they spent very little time in edging towards 92 points here.
They went close to taking a fourth-minute advantage when Roberto Firmino’s effort was deflected narrowly wide, then had to wait just two more minutes before Salah moved third in the race for the Golden Boot with his 18th league goal of the season.
Naby Keita, though, deserves the lion’s share of credit, the midfielder dispossessing Davy Propper before squaring to the Egyptian, who swept the ball home with his left foot.
Two minutes later Jordan Henderson doubled Liverpool’s advantage with a crisp strike from the edge of the box that left Mat Ryan with no chance.
Once again, though, the goal was preceded by a sequence of relentless pressing from Liverpool’s midfield that Brighton simply couldn’t contain, ending in Salah playing the final pass into his captain.
If Brighton were hoping Liverpool had taken their eye off the prize, they were sadly mistaken.
Credit to Potter’s side, however. They kept faith with their pressing and passing principles and slowly but surely, they gained a foothold in the game.
Williams made a brilliant lastditch challenge to deny Leandro Trossard in the 19th minute and Allison was then forced into a point-blank stop to deny Neal Maupay following a blistering
Brighton counter-attack led by Trossard. They were then denied again in the 35th minute, this time from Joe Gomez’s brave block.
Brighton were down, but certainly not out. Their intention to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool was refreshing. And they knew the consequences, as Salah reminded them in the 38th minute as he whipped an effort just wide of Ryan’s far post.
But they were undeterred in search of a route back into this game when this could easily have transformed into a damage-limitation exercise. And fortune favoured the brave, Brighton deservedly claiming their reward a minute before half-time. Trossard’s brilliant half-volley from a cross by the impressive Tariq Lamptey sent the hosts in at the break with the deficit halved and a spring in their step.
Klopp responded by hooking Williams, who had been booked, replacing him with Andy Robertson. The 19-year- old had been given a rough ride by Lamptey in the first half. Klopp has high expectations of the teenager, but this, on arguably the biggest night of his career, was a stark reminder of the standards necessary.
Liverpool would have had a third in the 54th minute had Dan Burn not denied Salah on the goal-line. Burn then saw his effort cleared off the line by Gomez as Brighton continued to take the fight to the visitors.
Yet Liverpool’s appetite for a scrap was admirable. Salah and Henderson squandered decent openings to extend the lead, before all three points were sealed in the 76th minute when Salah notched with a brilliant near-post header from Robertson’s corner.
That was No 19 for the season — he now has four matches to catch Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, who leads the division with 22.
BRIGHTON (4-2-3-1): Ryan 6; Lamptey 7.5, Webster 6.5, Dunk 6.5, Burn 6.5; Propper 5.5 (Bissouma 71min, 5.5), Stephens 6.5; Mac Allister 6 (Mooy 71, 6), Gross 6 (Connolly 71, 5.5), Trossard 7.5; Maupay 6.5. Subs not used: Button, Montoya, Bernardo, Duffy, Jahanbakhsh, Murray. Scorer: Trossard 45. Booked: Lamptey. Manager: Graham Potter 7. LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 7; AlexanderArnold 6.5, Gomez 7, Van Dijk 7, Williams 6 (Robertson 46, 7); Keita 7 (Fabinho 61, 6.5), Henderson 7 (Milner 80), Wijnaldum 6.5; SALAH 8, Firmino 6.5 (Minamino 87), Oxlade-Chamberlain 6.5 (Mane 61, 6). Subs not used: Adrian, Jones, Elliott, Origi. Scorers: Salah 6, 76, Henderson 8. Booked: Williams, Mane, Gomez, Fabinho. Manager: Jurgen Klopp 7.5. Referee: Craig Pawson 6.