Brighton & Hove Albion 0 - 1 Liverpool

Brighton
Liverpool: Salah 49’

• PRE-MATCH: Fabinho starts in the defense, which was the expectation going into this game.
• Trent Alexander-Arnold appears to be in some discomfort, and James Milner is already warming up on the sidelines. Klopp appears to be holding off so as to not further upset an already patched together back line.
• Liverpool are being very patient in possession at the moment, which means that they’re maintaining control of the play, but not creating much.
• Robertson delivers a good cross into the box that just barely misses the toe of Roberto Firmino.
• Salah just about ekes out a corner, and Liverpool try their luck on another set piece, unsuccessfully.
• Brighton, while not creating much in attack, have defended really well so far this first half. It’s up to Liverpool to break them down and find a way to score. Right now it’s just waves of Liverpool attacks without the end product.
• And as I type this, Shaqiri gets a header that very nearly finds the far corner of the net, but it’s just wide. Close, but no cigar.
• 32 minutes into this game and Alexander-Arnold remains on the pitch. It’s unclear if Klopp is looking for him to see out this first half or the whole game.
• HALFTIME: Plenty of set up but no pay off in that first half. It’ll be interesting to see if Trent stays on in the second half.
• Liverpool get an early chance through Salah, but it’s blocked by Button.
• PENALTY! Salah again, this time he gets dragged down by Gross after skiing his way through the Birghton defense.
• GOALLLLLLLLL! Salah 49’ - Salah scores the penalty, getting the ball into the left side of the net, despite Button guessing correctly.
• Fabinho does a good job blocking Gross’s shot in Brighton’s best moment of the game so far. Worth mentioning what a good job Fabinho has done in this game so far.
• It seems James Milner is now being brought into the game, but for Shaqiri instead of Trent. It’ll be Klopp’s first substitution today.
• Mané and Salah are combining well up front, but keep getting unlucky in the final shot.
• Salah misses a sitter just outside of the six-yard box. That should have been Liverpool’s second.
• Naby Keïta replaces Mané in the last minute of normal time. He’ll get five minutes to make an impact on the game, as the fourth official has called for four minutes of added time.
• FINAL: That was a close one, but Liverpool just about pulled it out in the end, and they’re seven points clear at the top of the table.

We’ll be back shortly to take an in-depth look at everything that happened in today’s game with the full recap. Until then, let us know your take on the ups and downs of the match in the comments, and if you haven’t already, join the community on the Liverpool Offside, where we’ll have full coverage and lively in-game discussion for every match this season.