BRIGHT IDEAS
Seagulls show Gers how they can spring a shock at Anfield
B r i g h t on gave Rangers the blueprint for an Anfield shock as Leandro Trossard’s hat- trick got new boss Roberto De Zerbi off to a flyer.
It looked like the Italian’s dugout debut with the Seagulls would end in a cruel defeat as Roberto Firmino inspired a Reds f ightback from 2- 0 down.
But Jurgen Klopp saw his defence cough up another goal as Trossard struck seven minutes f rom time to complete an amazing treble.
The Anfield giants have now claimed just one victory in their last four games and sit ninth in the Premier League, 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
Watching how Brighton opened up Liverpool will give
Ibrox boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst hope ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Anfield in the Champions League.
And Klopp admits his team will have to show more steel for a Battle of Britain showdown after comparing their confidence to a flower that has been trampled on.
The Reds boss said: “With all the good things we did dur ing the week the confidence is a little flower and when someone stamps on it, it’s really difficult. We have to fight through this, the boys can play much better.
“My job is to create a situation where we can play much better and for that you need stability.
“We have to control the game, which is something we have been talking about for two or three years.
“You have to work step by step to get confidence back. We had confident moments but our passing game was not good today, we passed balls all over the place. We also can defend each goal better.
“We always have problems against Brighton who are a very good football team but we have to do better. I know we have just 10 points and that’s the reality. I don’t hide from that. We have to go together and build.”
There was a touch of shock and awe about the way Brighton went on the offensive to score twice inside the first 18 minutes.
Trossard gave Alisson no hope with two carbon-copy finishes into the corner.
And they could have been f ive clear by the time Firminho dragged the home side back into the contest.
Even the rocksteady Virgil van Dijk was so unnerved that he sliced a clearance desperately close to his own goal. But then Mo Salah steered a pass into the path of Firminho to score with a clever finish. Salah looked offside but a VAR check showed that he’d been played on by Adam Webster’s heel.
Klopp sent Luis Diaz on at the start of the second half and the Portuguese winger took just nine minutes to set up Firmino for an equaliser.
Liverpool needed some good fortune to go ahead, Robert Sanchez flapping at Trent Alexander-Arnold’s corner and seeing his weak punch bounce off Webster’s shoulder and over the line.
Alisson again came to his team’s rescue by pawing out another Danny Welbeck header from close-range.
But he couldn’t keep out Trossard’s shot from Kaoru Mitoma’s cross.