Player Ratings: Accolade inspires increasingly consistent Liverpool man as forwards provide finishing touch to beat Brighton

Liverpool reached the landmark of 2000 Premier League goals as Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah scored in a 2-0 win over Brighton in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Liverpool took the lead in the 19th minute when Luis Diaz got his head to the ball before the onrushing Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who escaped further punishment despite a VAR check for his subsequent contact with the Colombian.

The advantage was doubled on the hour mark when Mohamed Salah powered a penalty down the middle of Sanchez’s goal after an Yves Bissouma handball. It was the club’s 2000th Premier League goal in history.

The win means Liverpool are three points behind league leaders Manchester City, having played the same number of games.

It was not their finest performance and some Brighton players could hold their heads high too, but the end result was justified.

Brighton

Robert Sanchez: Completely misread the flight of the ball when Diaz beat him to it for the opening goal. VAR looked into potential serious foul play from him for clattering the scorer, but he was somewhat fortuitously not carded. 5

Tariq Lamptey: Made inroads for Brighton from the right-hand side with deliveries in the air or along the ground. That said, did not track the run of Diaz for the opener. 7

Joel Veltman: Out-skilled by Mane for one Liverpool chance after the half-hour mark, but was at other times stronger. 6

Lewis Dunk: Came to the rescue on a few occasions with some clearances away from the danger zone. 7

Marc Cucurella: Looked fairly solid in both directions. Remained an option for his teammates to pick out even as their hopes of a result dipped, getting more touches than any other Albion player. 8

Steven Alzate: Scored the winner against Liverpool just over a year ago but did little to affect the game this time around. Taken off at half-time. 6

Yves Bissouma: Tracked back in battles with pacy Liverpool forwards Salah and Mane. Booked for his protests after being penalised for a high foot in a challenge against Keita. Also gave away a penalty for a handball. 6

Yves Bissouma to cost Aston Villa, Liverpool £50m

Liverpool and Aston Villa will pursue Yves Bissouma despite the £50m cost set by Brighton

Solly March: Involved in a few physical battles, which went either way. Looked to spread the play when he could. 7

Alexis Mac Allister: Influential to Brighton’s positive early start with his twists and turns from the number 10 position. Restricted as the game went on. 6

Leandro Trossard: Fired the first chance of the second half over the bar. A little more involved later on. 5

Neal Maupay: Got the first sight of goal during the match, firing just wide from the edge of the box. Worked hard but without a cutting edge. Booked for a needless foul on Alisson in the last 10 minutes. 6

Substitutes:

Adam Lallana (on for Alzate, half-time): Having seen his Liverpool career fade due to physical problems, was only on the pitch for a few minutes against them before pulling up with an injury. N/A

Pascal Gross (on for Lallana, 53 mins): Couldn’t contribute too much despite helping with some late pressure. 6

Danny Welbeck (on for Bissouma, 66): Saw a bit of the ball in an attempt  to five Brighton a new dimension, but without major success. 6

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Liverpool

Alisson Becker: Only had one save to make during the first half. There were some concerns when he almost carried the ball out of his own box midway through the second half, but he did well to keep it in. Preserved his clean sheet with a good reflex save to deny Welbeck late on. 7

Trent Alexander-Arnold: His technique was a bit off in the first half for crosses or shots. Read the play quite well overall though. 7

Joel Matip: Fresh from being named the Premier League player of the month for February, cut out some early danger. Looked confident and set up the opening goal with a fine forward pass. Very comfortable throughout. 9

Luis Diaz opens the scoring after an incredible pass from Joël Matip! 🔥

Despite being taken out by Robert Sánchez the Liverpool forward is ok to carry on 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Vka83JoN2X

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 12, 2022

Virgil van Dijk: Unusually the inferior member of Liverpool’s centre-back partnership for once. Beaten too easily by opponents for the first chance of the second half. Not always tidy in possession either. Took no chances when Liverpool were protecting their lead and made some more important interventions. 6

Andy Robertson: Caught out of position in one individual battle in the first half but regained his composure. Could have set up a late chance for a third goal but pulled his cross too far back. 6

Fabinho: Made a few tackles from most midfield but not the performance in which he has stood out most. Booked in the closing stages. 6

Jordan Henderson: Grew into the game on the right of the midfield three. End product wasn’t always full of conviction. 6

Naby Keita: Lucky to escape a caution for a high foul within the first minute but eventually settled down. His shot was blocked by Bissouma’s hand to give Liverpool their penalty. Taken off shortly after. 6

Mohamed Salah: Beat Bissouma on the counter when he at times looked less likely to, but couldn’t get a powerful shot to finish with. Frustrated with a couple of other efforts, one of which deflected onto the bar. Another he dragged wide and should have done better with. Put things right by making no mistake to score the penalty. 6

Sadio Mane: Tried to link things up from a more central attacking position than usual. Played some nice passes. 7

Luis Diaz: Put Liverpool ahead with a brave header before being clattered by Sanchez. Was fine to continue and drew a few more fouls from the opposition. 8

Substitutes:

Thiago Alcantara (on for Keita, 65): Eventually got his foot on the ball to give Liverpool some more calmness. 6

Diogo Jota (on for Salah, 65): His introduction allowed Mane to move back out to the wing, while he took the central position. Got on the ball and up to the pace of the game, doing defensive work too. 7

James Milner (on for Henderson, 86): Replaced the captain and took the armband to see the game out. N/A 

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