Key events
Half-time reading, courtesy of Jonathan Wilson.
Half-time: Brighton 1-2 Liverpool
The champions take an unlikely lead into the break!
GOAL! Brighton 1-2 Liverpool (Szoboszlai 45+1)
A bizarre goal. Liverpool take a quick free kick, with Szoboszlai getting into a wide area. The Liverpool midfielder whips a ball into the box – surely a cross – but the ball swerves and dips, completely deceiving Verbruggen, and bends inside the far post. That is either an absolutely unbelievable shot, or a lucky cross. I’m honestly not sure which. Everyone, from Szoboszlai to Slot on the sidelines, looks completely shocked that that went in!
45 min: One minute added on for stoppage time.
44 min: Gruda and Welbeck both pass up excellent chances to shoot inside Liverpool area and the Brighton move evaporates.
42 min: Salah finds some rare space on the right and drives at Estupinan, but the Brighton left back gets an excellent block in.
40 min: Wieffer has had a tough start to his career in Brighton. This season has been difficult for the Dutchman – that errant pass against Wolves is burned into the memories of all Brighton fans – but the new signing has started recently to deliver on his promise. Wieffer was excellent in the win over Wolves last week in his new position of right back, and twice snaps into tackles here to win the ball back for Brighton. The home fans cheer wildly. Wieffer has obviously won them over.
38 min: This is a good and even game, even if there is an end-of-season whiff about it.
36 min: “Without having any actual stats to back me up, I can tell you that neither Smicer nor Patrick Berger will ever have to buy a drink while on Merseyside for the rest of their lives”, writes Mark Crowder.
34 min: That was some pass from Gruda for the goal. Bundesliga side Mainz for £25m last summer, the 20-year-old looks like another gem for Brighton. He can operate out wide, but looks very accomplished in that No 10 role.
GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Liverpool (Ayari 32)
Another brilliant goal! Welbeck and Gruda both play excellent first-time passes – the latter dissecting Liverpool’s defence open with a visionary through ball – and Ayari breaks forward from midfield to go through on goal. The Swede takes a great first touch and finishes easily past Alisson! Ayari took the shot early and completely wrongfooted the Brazilian keeper!
Welbeck misses a sitter!
30 min: Brighton should be level! Adingra cuts inside off the left flank and lofts a laaaavely cross to the back post. Welbeck has a free run at the header, but glances his effort inexplicably wide from five yards out! Tsimikas did his best to put the Brighton striker off with a little shove, and maybe managed to unnerve Welbeck, because I don’t know how else he has missed that!
28 min: “That would be the same Smicer who scored in the ‘Miracle in Istanbul’ 2005 Champions league final comeback?”
Yep. Maybe I’m mis-remembering this but despite a few obvious highlights, I do remember Smicer being rather underwhelming? Happy to be corrected, I don’t (or didn’t) watch Liverpool as often as some.
26 min: … straight into the wall.
25 min: Whisper it but Chiesa is starting to play well. He links the play here nicely, backheeling into Gakpo’s path before the Dutchman is upended by his international teammate Van Hecke. A very promising free-kick for Liverpool, just left of centre. Szoboszlai over it …
23 min: Bradley so nearly makes it 2-0 to Liverpool! Chiesa finds a pocket of space in front of the Brighton defence. Perhaps due to a lack of confidence the Italian chooses not to shoot but instead plays a clever ball wide right to Bradley, who arrives at pace and sidefoots a first-time finish just past the far post!
21 min: “If you look at other players Liverpool have had in the slightly-underwhelming-wideish-attacking-midfielder role (such as Šmicer and Leonhardsen), then Chiesa fits right in,” emails Andy Flintoff. “Of course they’ve had some belters too (such as Luis García, and Kuyt, arguably).”
Is it harsh to put Ryan Babel, Patrick Berger and Harry Kewell into this list?
19 min: Minteh seems the most likely to make something happen for the home side.
17 min: Minteh floats a dangerous cross to the back post towards Ayari, but the Brighton midfielder can’t quite crane his neck to nod the ball goalwards. There are claims of a push in the back, but there’s nothing there.
15 min: Chiesa has barely been in the game, despite Liverpool lead. The Italian drops short to get the ball, but completely mis-controls it for a Brighton throw in. Deary me. Confidence is a fickle thing.
13 min: Brighton have responded well since the goal with a few testy crosses forcing Bradley and Quansah into frantic clearances.
11 min: Just before that goal, Brighton had claims for a penalty as Gruda hit the deck inside Liverpool’s area. Replays show that Konate did catch the German on the knee, but Gruda’s tumble was delayed and even though there was contact, it looked like a dive. The contract was certainly not enough to send Gruda flying like that.
GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Liverpool (Elliott 9)
An outrageous team goal! Szoboszlai beautifully spreads the play with a pinpoint diagonal to Salah, who cushions the pass first time into the path of Bradley. The Liverpool right back nutmegs Adingra, drives to the byline, feinting past Webster and cuts the ball back to Elliott, who has an easy finish from the six-yard box. Pure quality from back to front but especially from Bradley! Who needs Alexander-Arnold?!
7 min: Baleba receives the ball to feet, checks his shoulders with a nice scan, and leaves Elliott in the dust with a turn that would make your grandfather weep. Woof.
5 min: Liverpool are dominant with the ball. Harvey Elliott, playing in central midfield tonight, has shown a few neat early touches. It looks like Chiesa is playing as a centre forward for Liverpool, with Gakpo left and Salah right.
3 min: “I hope you enjoy the game tonight!” emails Steve G. “I’m one of many – seems well over a thousand from the ticket site – season ticket holders unable to make the game tonight because Sky dictated a move of the fixture to 8pm on a Monday while so many have families, or themselves, with pretty important school exams this week for example. If there any opportunity to point out how unfair it is on fans to move fixtures to times that don’t take them into any consideration please do so, last home game of the season too. A bit like when during lockdown much was made of football not being the same without fans…then a few months after we were allowed back they scheduled Brighton v Brentford for evening on Boxing Day when all public transport had stopped for the day. Empty seats tonight aren’t because we don’t care – I’ll be at Spurs on Sunday – and it’s not because we think we’ve got nothing to play for, it’s because Sky made it impossible to go.”
1 min: Liverpool are nearly ahead after 52 seconds! Gakpo finds some space on the left, drives inside and dodging a clumsy Wieffer tackle on the edge of Brighton’s area, and curls a low shot just wide of Verbruggen’s left-hand post!
Peeeeeeep!
We’re off at the Amex.
The teams are out! Blue versus red. The sun is shining. What more do you want?
“A rare night off for the Hardest Working Man in Football, Alexis Mac Allister,” emails Justin Kavanagh. “Somehow, I’m having trouble picturing him with his feet up on the couch, with the meaty aromas of an Argentinian grill wafting in his patio door on the springtime air back in Liverpool. After the season he’s had, goodness knows he’s earned his steak and Malbec tonight.”
The midfielder is not in the Liverpool squad at all tonight so won’t be facing his former side. But what a player. The way he sets the tempo for Liverpool and keep things ticking over is invaluable, just as he does for Argentina. Sometimes one only notices someone’s true quality when they are not there.
On Liverpool’s left wing, Federico Chiesa gets his first league start of the season in the penultimate match of the season. That tells the story of how poor the Italian has been although Chiesa signed a four-year contract last summer so there’s potentially a long way to go in his Liverpool career. Either he has to shape up next season and deliver on the early promise of his career or he won’t get anywhere near this Liverpool XI again. Maybe a loan deal, back to Italy, would suit all parties.
Fascinating that Brighton have benched Mitoma again tonight for the third game running, despite the Japanese scoring twice in those three games. In those three games, Fabian Hürzeler has preferred João Pedro, Simon Adingra and Yankuba Minteh at left wing, but Mitoma has come on to great effect from the bench. I’m just not sure Mitoma thought he would be playing that role when Brighton turned down a bid €65m (£54.4m) from Al-Nassr in January. Mitoma has two years remaining on his contract.
The teams!
Brighton: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Webster, Estupinan, Baleba, Ayari, Minteh, Gruda, Adingra, Welbeck.
Subs: Rushworth, Igor, Dunk, Mitoma, Gomez, O’Riley, Veltman, Hinshelwood, Howell.
Liverpool: Alisson, Bradley, Quansah, Konate, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Salah, Elliott, Gakpo, Chiesa.
Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Van Dijk, Diaz, Nunez, Jones, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold.
Fresh from scoring against Wolves, Brajan Gruda starts in the No 10 role for Brighton. Wieffer is retained as a makeshift right back, preferred to Hinshelwood or Veltman, while Simon Adingra comes in on the left wing ahead of Tariq Lamptey.
Kostas Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa all come into Slot’s XI, with Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz all dropping to the bench following the last outing against Arsenal. This is still a strong Liverpool team, just not quite as strong as it could be.
Preamble
Liverpool may have taken the phrase ‘on the beach’ a little too literally in the last week – with manager Arne Slot pictured at Wayne Lineker’s beach club in Ibiza alongside former EastEnders actor Dean Gaffney Dean Gaffney (no, really) and the rest of the squad in other cultural destinations like Dubai for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s leaving do – but let’s see what sort of shape they are in tonight.
Brighton (a) is a tough gig, even when the champions are firing on all cylinders and actually have something to play for, so this will likely be a tough test for Slot’s brave boys. The Seagulls are still in with a shot of Europe: finishing eighth is still a viable (although not certain) route to the Conference League. There are two ways that the eighth-placed team can get a place in the Conference League:
1)
Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League. Champions League: 1st to 5th, Man Utd or Spurs as Europa League winners. Europa League: 6th, Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as Conference League winners (7th). Conference League: 8th
2)
Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League, while Newcastle finish seventh. Champions League: 1st to 5th, Man Utd or Spurs as Europa League winners. Europa League: Newcastle (7th), Crystal Palace as FA Cup winners, Chelsea as Conference League winners (6th). Conference League: 8th
In either of these scenarios, the Premier League would have 10 teams – half of the Premier League – playing in Europe next season. Here is the current league table before kick-off. Brighton are ninth but only need a draw tonight to go into the final day in pole position to claim eighth.
So, quite the cherry for Brighton to play for, particularly as they have never won a major honour and would likely be the runaway favourites to win next season’s Conference League if they qualify. There’s a bigger question over whether the budgets of English teams in European’s minor competitions (West Ham 2023, Spurs/Manchester United 2025, etc) renders the rest of said competitions rather predictable but this is just a humble preamble and we won’t be answering those questions here!
Instead, let’s look forward to a sun-drenched evening of football in Sussex, as the best team in England visit one of the nation’s most exciting sides.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.