Liverpool end Brighton’s winning run as Isak scores again at Anfield

Liverpool beat Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on Saturday, ending a run of four straight Premier League wins in which Brighton had not conceded a goal. A Pascal Gross own goal and a sixth league goal of the season from Alexander Isak took Andoni Iraola’s side up to fourth in the table, The Guardian reports.

What happened

Brighton came to Merseyside in third place and in the best form in the division. According to The Guardian, Fabian Hürzeler’s team had scored 15 goals and conceded none during their four-match winning streak. That record did not survive the afternoon. The Guardian described a Brighton side that showed neither attacking verve nor defensive resilience, while Liverpool had plenty of both.

Storm Boelo was raging outside the stadium, but conditions inside were relatively calm, and The Guardian said this vindicated the decision to go ahead with the fixture.

Brighton should have taken the lead. Diego Gómez and Gross combined to break down Liverpool’s left side and gave Yasin Ayari a clear sight of goal, with Alisson pulled across to his left. Ayari blazed his shot high into the Kop.

Moments later Liverpool scored. Florian Wirtz held off the Brighton captain, Lewis Dunk, and Ronald Araújo beat Dunk and Oliver Boscagli to the loose ball. Araújo’s low cross bounced off two Brighton players and back to Wirtz, whose first-time shot beat Bart Verbruggen after another deflection, this time off Gross. The goal was officially recorded as an own goal by the Brighton midfielder.

The second goal came from more loose Brighton defending. Boscagli tried to deal with a long clearance from Alisson and hit his own clearance straight at Bradley Barcola. The France international, playing on the right, brushed off Boscagli’s attempt to win the ball back and crossed for Isak, who side-footed it inside the far corner. The Guardian noted that this was the first time Isak had scored in three consecutive league games since January 2025, and Liverpool’s first goal in the first half of a Premier League match at Anfield this season.

Boscagli was taken off at half-time and replaced by Jack Hinshelwood. Brighton’s best chance to get back into the game came from a risky pass by Alisson to Alexis Mac Allister, which gave the ball away and ended with Ayari hitting a post from 20 yards. Hinshelwood and fellow substitute Malick Yalcouyé gave the visitors more energy after the break. Even so, overhit crosses and poor final balls let Liverpool protect their lead in comfort, with Araújo, Jérémy Jacquet and Virgil van Dijk all making important interventions.

Why it matters if you live in United Kingdom

If you have recently moved to the UK and are picking a team to follow, this result changes the picture at the top of the Premier League. The Guardian describes Liverpool as convincing winners at home in the league for the first time this season, and the win lifts them to fourth. Brighton started the weekend in third and had been the form team in the country. One afternoon at Anfield stopped that momentum.

The match also showed how expensive signings are settling in at Liverpool. The Guardian called Wirtz, Isak and Barcola an “expensive trio” and said they look increasingly at home under Iraola. It also pointed to Barcola sprinting back to defend and Araújo throwing himself into challenges as signs that the manager’s methods are taking hold. For fans trying to work out which clubs are heading in the right direction, that matters as much as the score.

The weather is worth keeping in mind too. The game went ahead while Storm Boelo was blowing outside the ground. Anyone planning to travel to a match during stormy weather should check with the club before setting off, because decisions on whether games go ahead can be made close to kick-off.

What to watch next

For Liverpool, the question is whether this performance marks a turning point. The Guardian contrasted their sharp start against Brighton with a slow opening against Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday. If they can keep up the intensity they showed at both ends of the pitch on Saturday, fourth place may not be where they stop.

Isak is the player to follow. Six league goals and a run of scoring in three games in a row suggest he has found his rhythm, and Wirtz is involved in more and more of Liverpool’s attacking moves.

Brighton’s response will tell us a lot about their season. Hürzeler will need answers in defence, where Boscagli struggled badly, and in attack, where his side lacked a cutting edge despite pushing forward with more conviction than they defended. Their next few matches will show whether this was a blip or the end of their best spell. For more Premier League coverage, visit Mylistingo.

Source: The Guardian