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Titles can be built on the back of professional wins like these. A Mohamed Salah second half penalty was all that was required to edge past Brighton Hove & Albion as Liverpool got back to their winning ways at the top of the league table. A 1-0 scoreline mirrored the margin from the reverse fixture, with a resolute Chris Hughton side remaining committed to putting 10 men behind the ball for the majority of the match.
However, it is telling that at no point in the 50 minutes of play preceding Salah’s spot kick was there anything resembling panic amongst the Reds on the pitch nor watching in the stands. No longer does the sight of a bottom half side sitting in the low block elicit anxiety for Liverpool supporters. With a newfound mental fortitude this season combined with a league-leading 13 goals from dead ball situations, it is now expected for Jürgen Klopp’s squad to somehow find a way to take points from every opponent they encounter.
Liverpool right back, Trent Alexander-Arnold embodied this resilience in overcoming what appeared to be an ankle injury during the warm up to put in a solid performance in defense, praising his team for pushing through what was a tricky assignment:
”We knew it was going to be difficult. We struggled to score against them at home. We got the goal in the end and we held in there.
”It’s a credit to the lads that we showed that desire to get the three points. It was frustrating as a team in the first half. They are well organized and it was tough to break them down.
”In the second half it helped us getting that goal early on and they had to attack us more which played into our hands.
”Mohamed Salah has shown he has the strength and the skill to do that. He has helped the team with his goals and the contributions.”
With the win, Liverpool temporarily increase their lead in the standings to seven points pending the results of Manchester City and Tottenham’s respective fixtures.