Liverpool 0-1 Brighton: Woeful champions lose again at Anfield

Liverpool suffered a second successive league defeat at Anfield as they were beaten 1-0 by Brighton

Having seen three-and-a-half-year run without losing a home Premier League game come to an end against Burnley last week, the Reds once again lost by a solitary goal on Merseyside.

Steven Alzate's second-half goal proved the difference as the hosts failed to find the scoresheet for the fourth game running in the league.

Liverpool almost made the perfect start thanks to the in-form Mohamed Salah, who might have expected to do better than shooting over the bar after latching onto a Jordan Henderson ball over the top.

But that was as close as the hosts came across a first half that saw a disciplined Brighton close any and all gaps to prevent a single shot on target against.

The Seagulls, too, failed to test the opposition goalkeeper, though they also came close as Dan Burn skewed over from close range following good work from Neal Maupay.

Otherwise, it was a forgettable 45 minutes, which is exactly how the visitors would probably have liked it.

The second started in a similar vein but, when a shot on target finally arrived, it went to Brighton and found the back of the net.

A back-post aerial mismatch featuring Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dan Burn saw the latter head back across goal where it was initially impossible to decide whether Alzate or Leandro Trossard got the ball over the line - not that either man cared.

From there, Liverpool continued to struggle to create anything of note, while only two sharp saves from stand-in Caoimhin Kelleher kept the hosts from suffering further embarrassment as Brighton claimed three deserved points.