Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table after beating Brighton 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday night.
After being thoroughly outplayed in the first half, the Reds staged a dramatic comeback. Anfield produced an electrifying atmosphere, something Arne Slot hadn’t witnessed since joining the club.
Brighton were brilliant in the first half and it felt like it would be one of those days when everything that could go wrong for Liverpool did go wrong. But Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah had other ideas.
The substitutions made an immediate impact, with Joe Gomez producing an “outstanding” performance.
Curtis Jones was superb as usual, and it is from his measured pass Salah found the net in his trademark style.
It was a predictable move. He would cut inside and rifle it past the goalkeeper with his left foot – and he did it with grace and elegance to turn the game around.
The Egyptian moved above Robbie Fowler to eighth on the Premier League’s list of all-time goalscorers with 164, and he will now be looking to break Thierry Henry’s 175-goal tally.
UK press has been full of praise for the Liverpool winger. The Times and The Sunday Mirror gave him an 8/10 rating for his “superb” display, while the Guardian described his goal as “stupendous”.
It was one of those nights that reminded everyone of Jurgen Klopp. This is basically Klopp’s team, and Slot has merely tweaked the system.
Liverpool’s mentality monsters live on, and Slot will be extremely pleased with the transformation in the second half. The players knew that there was an opportunity to extend the gap with Arsenal, and they didn’t waste their chances to go by.
Luis Diaz and Jones played a massive role in shifting the momentum after they came on. The injury to Ibrahima Konate could be a major worry, but Gomez has done more than enough to justify a start in the Champions League clash against Bayer Leverkusen.
