Liverpool were utterly bereft of creativity, ideas and hope against an excellent Brighton side. The mentality monsters look pretty scared.
Jurgen Klopp must be sick of the sight of Brighton and the BT Sport cameras. That potent combination so riled him back in November when Pascal Gross scored a controversial penalty in second-half stoppage-time to salvage a 1-1 draw. Graham Potter’s side were as fortunate to rescue a point then as they were ludicrously deserving of all three on Wednesday.
It took Liverpool 75 games over four years from January 2017 to lose twice in the Premier League at Anfield, yet the Reds have now been conquered at home by the teams in 15th and 17th in less than a fortnight. The sight of leaders Manchester City on the Merseyside horizon this weekend could sharpen their senses or leave this former fortress in ruins.
Brighton could actually feel aggrieved, such was the ease and comfort with which they shut Liverpool down so thoroughly. Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Atalanta remain the only teams not to allow a single shot on target against Klopp’s side, the Seagulls prevented entry to that esteemed group by virtue of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s heavily deflected strike that fell into Robert Sanchez’s welcoming arms.
That was the worry here. At least against Burnley they could point to a commanding performance from Nick Pope, to the fact that a fortunate deflection on any of their 27 efforts could have changed the complexion of the match completely. Faced with similarly determined resistance and a more adventurous Brighton there was nothing. No creativity, no invention, no fluidity, no fight, no explosiveness. The starting XI was flat and the substitutes offered no improvement or impetus.
Klopp’s Liverpool have never looked so ordinary and predictable. At their best they take the slightest suggestion of losing as an affront, an insult that must be returned with vicious and calculated interest. The f**king mentality monsters, their manager once called it. They look scared alright.
That is testament to Brighton and Graham Potter, whose masterful coaching is finally garnering the results to merit the performances. Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster and Ben White were faultless. Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard were excellent.
The most damning indictment of the hosts is that Tottenham were not much worse against the same opponents three days ago. Jose Mourinho’s side had eight shots with four on target, conceding 16 and five. Liverpool had 11 and a debatable one while allowing 13 and four. Perhaps Mo Salah, too, is just a bit sad.
Defeat was immediately used by some as proof of Sadio Mane’s importance. An undeniably brilliant player though he is, the forward played 90 minutes in the Burnley loss. And while the imbalance caused by defensive injuries remains, a midfield of Thiago, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner cannot point to Jordan Henderson and Nat Phillips behind them as the reason they were so utterly ineffective.
Other excuses might well be lined up but they have played seven Premier League games against the current bottom six this season, won only one – against Sheffield United in October – and have conceded more goals than they have scored. It may be that their mask of invincibility has simply slipped, that the fear they once elicited has dissipated, that this is a great team capable of brilliance but no longer a brilliant team on the verge of greatness.
‘This is Anfield’ was once a foreboding final warning. Burnley and Brighton have shown it to be nothing more than a warm welcome.
Matt Stead
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