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Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 at the American Express Stadium thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Brighton had a bright start to the game and looked more balanced compared to the Reds. But it was Liverpool who broke the deadlock. Diaz opened the scoring for the visitors in the 19th minute of the game. The 25-year-old headed one past Robert Sanchez from the edge of the box to give his side the lead.
Mohamed Salah squandered quite a few chances to double his side's advantage. But before the Seagulls could get their hands on the equalizing goal, the Egyptian international scored one from the penalty spot. Naby Keita's attempt hit Yves Bissouma on the hand and earned Liverpool a penalty which was ultimately converted by Salah.
On that note, here's a look at five talking points from the game.
#5 Robert Sanchez escapes a red card
In the buildup to the opening goal of the game, Robert Sanchez took down Diaz with a nasty challenge. The Spaniard was under VAR review following the goal but was given a clean chit following multiple reviews by the officials.
It was astonishing that he escaped any booking, even a red card because Diaz really took a massive blow following the collision. Sanchez was very lucky to escape any punishment and continue playing.
#4 Mohamed Salah dazzles for Liverpool
Mohamed Salah has been in the spotlight for a while now owing to his contract extension situation. The Egyptian and his agents have been tussling it out with the board over his wages. But despite all the noise, Salah put in a brilliant performance. He scored his 28th goal of the season against Brighton.
Salah scored the Reds' second goal of the game from the penalty spot. He threatened the hosts with his fiery pace. The star striker also won two duels, made three recoveries, created one chance, and completed two dribbles during his stay on the pitch. He went off the pitch injured and was replaced by Diogo Jota in the 65th minute of the game. The Reds will be hoping that his injury is not too serious.
#3 Luis Diaz shows his worth
Luis Diaz had a great game for Liverpool. The 25-year-old is proving to be a great signing. He scored the opening goal of the game after receiving the ball from Joel Matip.
Diaz headed in the ball fearlessly under pressure from incoming Robert Sanchez. The Brighton goalkeeper brought down the Colombian with his challenge but it was too late since the ball was already in the back of the net.
Diaz won seven duels, made six recoveries, won two tackles, created two chances, made one interception and completed one dribble throughout the game. He deservedly won the Man of the Match award for his performance against Brighton.
#2 Liverpool break mutiple records
Liverpool scored their 2000th goal in the Premier League in this match. Mohamed Salah's goal from the spot helped them scale this milestone. Manchester United are the only team that has scored more goals than them in the Premier League. The Red Devils have scored 2173 goals in the league so far.
Another record was broken by Salah. The Egyptian became the third player to score 50 away goals for the Reds in the Premier League. Alisson Becker too matched Ederson Moraes' tally of 15 clean sheets in the league this season.
#1 The title race heats up
With the win against Brighton, Liverpool kept the pressure at the top of the table. Having played 28 games in the Premier League season so far, Liverpool have amassed 66 points and are just three points shy of league leaders Manchester City.
The Premier League now looks like a two-legged race as Chelsea trail Liverpool by 10 points but they do have a game in hand. The next three Premier League fixtures will be a make or break affair for Liverpool as they face Arsenal, Watford, and Manchester City. Should they be able to survive this tough run of games, winning the league could be a real possibility for the Reds.
