Liverpool gained an important result after a somewhat poor performance against a Brighton side with a clear game plan at Anfield. Liverpool showed they can win ugly when needed but were helped by some luck in a game that was as low in tempo as it was in chances.
First Half
As usual when a lesser side comes to Anfield, Brighton set up to defend compactly with a 4-5-1, which sometimes turned into a 5-4-1. This meant Liverpool’s front three in particular were cut off due to Brighton’s compactness in the midfield area, which blocked most passing lanes through to the front three. Liverpool struggled to break Brighton down as a result, and found the most luck in fast break transitions when Brighton played sloppy passes or were dispossessed by Liverpool’s high press. Liverpool were good in offensive transitions, driving forward quickly and in numbers while Brighton had lost their defensive shape. A good example of this was in the 13th minute when Naby Keita drove forward after collecting the ball from a failed Brighton attack. Brighton committed men further forward and so when the ball was lost, Brighton were out of shape and were forced to track back but couldn’t keep up with Keita’s driving run. This resulted in Keita forcing Brighton to commit a foul and Alexander Arnold rattled the bar with the resulting free kick.
The goal was also an example of Liverpool’s excellent offensive transitions. Liverpool pressed well as Brighton tried to play out from the back and won the ball around 40 yards away from goal. Liverpool then had 4 players all around the area and it took Liverpool only about 5 seconds from winning the ball back to scoring, which gave Brighton no chance of recovering and also highlighted Jurgen Klopp’s pressing beliefs. The simple reason a press happens so high is because it is closer to the goal, and so if the ball is won there is a higher likelihood that a goal is scored, and in this case a goal was scored quickly, which I have no doubt will have pleased Jurgen.
Second half
As Jurgen Klopp said post-match: “We won the first half and drew the second half, which means we won.” In truth Liverpool were probably lucky to draw the second half in the end. Brighton’s game plan became increasingly evident as the match went on, and they were clearly waiting for the chance to snatch a goal and escape Anfield with at least a point. Brighton’s first big chance came from Anthony Knockaert, who should have done better after Brighton got a few lucky deflections and Liverpool defended scrappily, before he slashed the ball wide from a half volley.
Liverpool continued to pressure Brighton, but again struggled to break them down. They did however do well in limiting Brighton’s possession, with Gomez and Van Dijk employing a high line and collecting the ball quickly whenever Brighton quickly, which is something I also analysed vs Crystal Palace. This helps to maintain the tempo of the attack and tires opposition players mentally and physically, as it keeps a sustained attack going for a long period of time.
Allison had another solid game but scared a few in Anfield with his composure and refusal to just smash the ball long. Goalkeepers keep hold of the ball for longer than usual sometimes to attempt to draw the opposition in, so that when they do release the ball, the opposition can be bypassed, and players can drive forward into space.
Brighton’s other chance came from a Pascal Gross header in the 89th minute. This chance came about from a failure to stop the cross and Gross made an intelligent run between either centre back, but Allison matched the header with a solid save.
Man of the match:
Gini Wijnaldum
It’s hard to not give man of the match to a player who completed 99% of his passes and didn’t put a foot wrong in another strong midfield display.
Team ratings:
Liverpool 6.5
Brighton: 7
In terms of their game plan, Brighton actually executed it quite well and limited Liverpool’s chances. However, they couldn’t take their chances and so ultimately will be a little disappointed they couldn’t get anything out of the game.
Cam Meighan
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