Liverpool's season is becoming a test of how much adversity a squad can absorb before it breaks. On Saturday morning at the Amex Stadium, the answer was: not quite enough.
Brighton won 2-1, with veteran striker Danny Welbeck scoring both goals in a performance that was efficient, direct, and everything Liverpool were not. Milos Kerkez pulled one back for the Reds, but it was not enough. Liverpool remain fifth in the Premier League, outside the Champions League places, heading into the international break with serious questions to answer.
**The match**
The game was delayed 15 minutes by a road traffic accident on the A27 outside the stadium. When play began, the omens were poor.
Brighton took the lead against the run of play. A cross from the left was nodded back across goal by Diego Gómez and the 35-year-old Welbeck reacted quickest, heading home from close range. Mamardashvili — starting in place of the injured Alisson — had no chance. Slot protested a push on Ibrahima Konaté in the build-up but the goal stood after VAR.
Liverpool levelled when Milos Kerkez produced an excellent lob from the left to beat Verbruggen. For a period it looked like the Reds might push on, with Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo probing.
Then the game turned. Hugo Ekitike — Liverpool's main striker with Alexander Isak absent — collided with James Milner and was forced off injured. Curtis Jones replaced him. Liverpool's attacking threat diminished immediately, with Wirtz and Gakpo now the striking options — neither a natural centre-forward.
Brighton exploited the space. Yankuba Minteh's cross found Welbeck in the box and the striker tapped in from close range for his second. Mamardashvili had no chance. Verbruggen was excellent at the other end, denying Mac Allister and Gakpo with important saves.
**The bigger picture**
Slot's side came in off the back of the 4-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray — a result that felt like a turning point. Instead it has been followed by another league defeat, continuing domestic inconsistency that has dogged them all season.
The injury list is becoming critical. Alisson out. Salah out with a muscle injury. Alexander Isak unavailable. Conor Bradley out for the season. Wataru Endo out. And now Ekitike adding fresh concerns. Slot managed this match with severe limitations at every level of the pitch.
Liverpool are fifth with 49 points from 31 games — one behind Aston Villa in fourth, three behind Manchester United in third. The top-four race resumes after the international break. First up for Liverpool: PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals. They will need their best players fit.
