Brighton 1-1 Liverpool – Player Ratings as late penalty pegs Reds back | OneFootball

Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon, after more VAR drama, that saw the Reds have two goals disallowed, and Brighton given a penalty in stoppage time, which Pascal Gross scored to equalise.

Liverpool took the lead in the second half through Diogo Jota after the Portuguese was set up by Mohamed Salah. The Reds had two goals denied by VAR, as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both adjudged offside after they put the ball in the net. While the decision against Mane seemed clearcut, there is still some debate over whether Salah was actually offside.

Brighton were excellent in the first half though, and had Aaron Connolly missing a one-on-one early in the game. Then, Neco Williams conceded a penalty for a tackle on Connolly, which Neal Maupay put wide.

Here’s how each played rated for the Reds.

Alisson Becker – 6/10

He dived the wrong way for both penalties, and didn’t have much else to do otherwise. Distribution was decent.

Neco Williams – 4/10

He once again looked out of his depth at right-back. He conceded a penalty with a daft challenge on Connoly. He also offered very little going forward.

Nat Phillips – 6/10

He won most aerial challenges that he had to win, and once again looked reasonably comfortable at the back. His lack of real pace, though, was a bit of a concern as Brighton kept pinging the ball in behind the Reds’ defence.

Fabinho – 5/10

He dived into a few challenges too early, when he didn’t need to. It wasn’t the best performance from Fabinho at centre-back.

Andy Robertson – 5/10

He played a crucial role in the build-up to the Reds’ goal, with the pass into a dangerous area, which he weighted really well. Apart from that, though, he looked a little leggy.

Gini Wijnaldum – 6/10

He was among the better performers for the Reds on the day. He was good in possession, and also shielded the back four reasonably well.

James Milner – 5/10

Didn’t impact the game much when he started in midfield. He didn’t last too long after being moved to right-back, as he pulled his hamstring.

Takumi Minamino – 4/10

Starting in an advanced role in midfield, Minamino struggled to really impact the game. He couldn’t link up well enough with the front three, nor did he offer too much defensive help.

Diogo Jota – 6/10

He scored another Premier League goal for Liverpool, but that aside, he really didn’t have much of an impact on the game. The goal was superbly taken, though, with the finish into the bottom corner.

Mohamed Salah – 5/10

Salah had the ball in the back of the net once, but that was disallowed due to him being offside. There are questions to be asked about VAR on that offside though. But that chance aside, the Reds couldn’t get Salah involved too much, even though he was the one who set up Jota’s goal.

Roberto Firmino – 5/10

Firmino was not particularly involved too much with anything the Reds did in the attacking areas of the pitch. But with the tiredness that has set into the squad, it’s hard to be too critical of anyone.

Substitutes

Jordan Henderson – 6/10

It’s good to have the skipper back in action. He brought the Reds some poise in midfield, after coming on in the second half.

Sadio Mane  – 5/10

His headed goal was correctly ruled out for offside. His passing was not great.

Curtis Jones – 5/10

A new position for him today, as he played at right-back.