Alexander Isak scored for a third straight Premier League game as Liverpool inflicted only Brighton's second loss of the season. Isak's goal, finished emphatically from Bradley Barcola's right-wing cut-back, came four first-half minutes after Pascal Gross had diverted a Florian Wirtz shot into his own net. Brighton arrived at Anfield having scored 23 goals in their first seven games of the season but lacked a clinical edge, with Yasin Ayari blazing a golden chance over moments before the opener.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ayari later struck the post with a curling effort from outside the box as Brighton finished the game with only one shot on target despite having 64 per cent of the possession. Trey Nyoni, a second-half substitute for Wirtz, who went down the tunnel after taking a knock to his ankle, also made a crucial, last-ditch tackle to deny Maxim De Cuyper in the Liverpool box. The hosts had chances to add to their lead, wasting several counter-attacks and drawing Bart Verbruggen saves from Ronald Araujo and Cody Gakpo.
But their first-half flurry proved sufficient to secure a first Premier League home win under Andoni Iraola. The result takes them above Chelsea into fourth in the Premier League, only a point behind Brighton, who taste defeat for the first time since August. Liverpool's fourth win in a row in all competitions also provides further evidence of their attack finally clicking.
Isak's goal, his sixth of the season in the Premier League, came after fine work by summer signing Barcola, who stole possession high up the pitch before driving forward and picking out his team-mate. Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler speaking to Sky Sports: "Everyone felt we could definitely take something away from this game. We came here to play our way.
We made two easy mistakes to give them a present to score two goals. "We had plenty of chances to score. They defended well in the box and have individual quality.
We have to avoid easy mistakes. We had chances but didn't have luck on our side today. "We had a big chance with Yasin.
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