GRIN AND TONIC
It is a mismatch as Liverpool’s brilliant attacking trio leave Klopp in stitches and beaten Brighton feeling punch drunk
THERE were several moments during this vicious exhibition of schoolyard bullying when Jurgen Klopp would randomly burst into a grin at the sheer brutality of it all.
How he enjoyed watching his three little assassins make such a big mess of Brighton.
They were exceptional, that trident of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah, who had one of those rare days when he did not score but still ticked the box of an excellent performance.
Instead, this one was more about Firmino, who scored the second and third goals, and Coutinho, who made the first for Emre Can and netted a laughably good fourth, before delivering the late shot that Lewis Dunk headed into his own net.
At times, frequently in fact, those three men produced counterattacking that will not be bettered anywhere this season. The second and third goals, in particular, were items of great beauty and speed, delivered at a ground where Brighton had not lost since the opening match of the season, when Manchester City were in town.
Even Pep Guardiola’s side only managed two that day.
How fitting, then, that only City can currently match Liverpool’s form, given Klopp’s side have now won five and drawn one of the six league games played since they were battered 4-1 by Tottenham in October.
The lesser-heralded factor of that run is that even their defence, which is normally so shaky, has been behaving itself, with only three conceded since the Spurs hammering. They are light on numbers at the back, which will eventually become a problem if they do not reinforce correctly, but they can have no concerns about the depth or strength of their attack. None whatsoever.
Salah has 17 goals in all competitions and three assists, including the pass for Firmino’s second; Firmino has 11 goals and four; Coutinho six and seven. All are under 6ft but they are monsters and they mauled all in their path here while Daniel Sturridge and Sadio Mane sat watching from the bench. No wonder Klopp was having a ball, even if his words afterwards were more subdued than his actions on the side.
‘Did I enjoy it? Not really, not all the time,’ he said. ‘In our calmer moments we are a really good team but we need to carry on. I am more interested in the next game [against Spartak Moscow on Wednesday].’ He added: ‘We need the points in the Premier League and we want to stay as close as possible to the teams in front. We cannot get them immediately but we want to be in a position where we are close.’ Regardless of Klopp’s tone, they are close to everyone bar City and have the benefit of momentum, despite the concerns before this game about a makeshift backline that looked vulnerable. Among Klopp’s six changes to the side that beat Stoke in midweek — he has made 54 alterations this season, which by some distance is a Premier League high — was a three-man defence including a pair of repurposed midfielders in Can and Georginio Wijnaldum. It was peculiar to see Klopp go with three centre-halves when the thigh injury to Joel Matip and the sickness of Ragnar Klavan meant he barely had scope to go with one, but they were not exposed here.
There was one rough moment on 16 minutes when Glenn Murray botched his shot but, beyond that, Brighton offered nothing until their goal in the second half at 3-0 down.
Liverpool, by contrast, were brutally effective. The first goal, on the half hour, was basic enough, a corner from Coutinho and a header from Can.
The second, about a minute later, was delightful in its speed with Salah surging 30 yards to the edge of Brighton’s area and then rolling out left to Coutinho. His first-time ball across the box was the eyecatching element of the move, and Firmino wrapped it up with the one-touch finish at the far post.
The third in the 49th minute was equally wonderful given the absurd speed of Liverpool’s counter after Simon Mignolet had made an excellent stop to block a volley from Murray.
Just 14 seconds later they had scored, with Firmino playing to Salah, who skipped by a couple of challenges before sending Firmino one-on-one with Mat Ryan after the Brazilian had run 60 yards for a return pass. The striker buried it.
Murray pulled one back with a penalty, before Coutinho added a fourth with a free-kick of some genius. Liverpool’s analysts had spotted that Brighton’s walls jump at free-kicks so Coutinho kept it low. Superb.
The fifth came from a Coutinho run and shot that deflected in via Dunk’s head. Asked if Liverpool were the best side Brighton had faced, boss Chris Hughton said: ‘Yes. They gave us a harsh lesson.’
Bullying has never looked so good.