Brighton striker Danny Welbeck scored two goals, diminishing Liverpool’s chances for Champions League qualification in a 2-1 Premier League defeat at the Amex Stadium.
Under the management of Arne Slot, Liverpool traveled to Sussex missing key players Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah. They were looking to bounce back after a disappointing draw against relegation-threatened Tottenham and a loss to the struggling Wolves.
Welbeck opened the scoring with a header, then, after Milos Kerkez equalized for Liverpool following a mistake from Lewis Dunk, Welbeck scored again, benefiting from a narrow offside call. This marked his 12th goal in the Premier League this season.
Brighton’s fourth win in five games has secured them a spot in the upper tier of the standings, while Liverpool’s struggles continue, worsened by an early injury to top scorer Hugo Ekitike.
On Wednesday evening, Liverpool advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals following a 4-1 aggregate victory over Galatasaray, but they still face challenges in securing a place for next season due to inconsistent league performances.
In the absence of Alisson and Salah, goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and Cody Gakpo replaced them, while Brighton’s coach Fabian Hurzeler kept the same lineup that won 1-0 against Sunderland last weekend.
The match was delayed by 15 minutes due to a traffic accident on the A27, and Liverpool faced an early setback when Ekitike had to leave the field after just eight minutes following a collision with James Milner, which led to Curtis Jones coming on to replace him.
The visitors made a costly error that allowed Brighton to score the opener in the 14th minute.
After a miscontrolled pass from Mamardashvili, Ibrahima Konaté inadvertently gifted Brighton a throw-in deep into Liverpool’s half. Following a deep cross from Ferdi Kadioglu, Diego Gómez headed the ball back across the goal for Welbeck to finish, celebrating in front of the traveling supporters.
Brighton made another mistake that led to Liverpool’s equalizer in the 30th minute.
Mamardashvili’s long ball seemed harmless, but Seagulls captain Dunk headed it backward without paying attention, which gave Liverpool’s left-back Kerkez the opportunity to score with a clever lob over keeper Bart Verbruggen.
Kadioglu came close to restoring Brighton’s lead early in the second half, but Welbeck struck again in the 56th minute.
Jack Hinshelwood set up Welbeck with a perfect cross, leaving him unmarked to tap in his second of the match, celebrating after a lengthy VAR check.
Mamardashvili made a spectacular save against a powerful free-kick from Gómez as Brighton tried to extend their lead, and later denied Minteh, while Verbruggen made a good save from Jones at the opposite end.
In search of an equalizer, Slot brought on Andrew Robertson and Federico Chiesa with less than 15 minutes remaining.
Despite Liverpool’s push to create opportunities, they struggled, though Gakpo tested Verbruggen with a shot five minutes from the end.
Brighton substitute Yasin Ayari had an effort blocked by Jones, and Brighton held firm through seven minutes of stoppage time, leaving Liverpool with three consecutive league games without a win as they head into the international break.