« on: October 30, 2021, 01:39:08 pm »
Liverpool vs Brighton & Hove Albion
15:00, Saturday 30th October 2021
Anfield, Liverpool
Premier League
Referee: Mike Dean
Liverpool’s home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in early February last season felt like the moment that shoulders truly dropped for many. Following seven-goal haul at Selhurst Park just prior to Christmas, the Reds had taken just 3 points (three draws) from five matches over Christmas & though January – a 4 point advantage at the top of the table had turned to a 6 point deficit; an alarming downturn for a side who had been almost peerless for two & a half seasons but who found themselves ravaged by injury. Two 3-1 away wins to Spurs and West Ham – including a delicious breakaway goal by Mo Salah, via now-departed Xherdan Shaqiri in the latter – had offered some hope, but Liverpool’s inability to recover from a Steven Alzate goal early in the second half put the brakes on any renewed optimism and set alarm bells ringing. Jurgen Klopp described his team as “mentally fatigued” following the match. Both the league table – with the Reds 7-points behind game-in-hand Man City – and upcoming fixtures against sides above them in the league offered little respite for the fatigue, only adding more pressure amidst poor form.
Things would get much worse. Liverpool took just 9 point from seven matches prior to the defeat to Brighton, but – amidst defeats to Man City and Leicester, a first home defeat in the Merseyside Derby since 1999, and further losses to the West London pair of Chelsea and Fulham – took just 3 points (from an away win to worst-Premier-League-side-ever candidates Sheffield United) from the next six, and would ultimately fall just a week short of four months without a home league win. Klopp’s side were 8th following that run, 28 points behind leaders City and 8 points outside of the top four – that they would go on to win eight of the final ten, create some truly memorable moments, and finish 3rd, would have astonished anyone who experiences the miserable form of February & early March in particular. The run-in spoke volumes about the character, mentality, and togetherness of the entire squad.
Brighton & Hove Albion’s return to the top flight, following an absence of over three decades, could already be considered a success prior to last season – their four seasons 1979-83 represented their only previous stint at the summit and 2017-21 already matched that. The club’s parting of ways with previous manager Chris Hughton was indicative of their ambitions – survival had by no means been expected upon their return, but the hierarchy were clearly keen to push from 15th & 17th on and seize the opportunity that their top flight status represented. Graham Potter – and Englishman with a burgeoning reputation following his seven seasons with Östersund – was selected as Hughton’s successor, with the brief to consolidate Brighton’s top-flight status whilst enhancing the aesthetics of their playing-style. Potter’s first season saw small steps – Brighton scored more and conceded less, finishing 15th.
By mid-January last season, however, there was a sense that Potter’s approach was not quite translating to results – Brighton found themselves 17th, with just two wins from their first eighteen matched. Whilst Liverpool were hitting something of a mid-season nadir, however, Albion suddenly hit a bit of a hot-streak – prior to meeting the Reds, they took 7 points courtesy of impressive victories against Leeds and Spurs, either side of a draw with Fulham, and they followed-up with draws against Burnley and Villa to claim a six-match unbeaten run. Results faded once again, though, and the Seagulls won just 4 of their final fourteen; Brighton finished 16th, but Potter could once again point towards more goals for & less goals against. Underlying stats tell an interesting story at Brighton, and - to the credit of what Potter is trying to achieve - their performances were betrayed by an inability to score goals last season: football isn't played on paper & spreadsheets of course, but the Seagull's xG (expected goals) and xP (expected points) during 2020-21 should have seen their home form amongst the very best in the league if only they'd hit the back of the net with greater regularity.
My own reason for selecting this fixture to make a contribution to RAWK is based on personal connection. My grandad was born & raised in Brighton, before being evacuated north at the start of World War II – more recent generations of the family largely being from the North West. Brighton & Hove is a city I’m fond of, based on many summer trips during my childhood, and – despite not getting to many matches – I was pleased to catch our home victories against Brighton in both 2017-18 & 18-19. Though there haven’t been many meetings between the two clubs (33, I believe), some prestigious names crop up in their mutual history – Mark Lawrenson and Jimmy Case were Brighton regulars before and after their illustrious spells at Liverpool, respectively, whilst Adam Lallana has recently returned south adorned with medals from his time at Anfield. Supporters across England and Spain were saddened by the death of Michael Robinson last year – the much-loved pundit represented both Liverpool and Brighton during his playing day, adding a title apiece to the combined haul of 11 league titles and 6 European Cups for the four players mentioned here.
Brighton have made an excellent start to the 2021-22 campaign, and find themselves in an impressive 5th position after nine matches. This opening stretch has been a bit of a season of two halves thus far, however – Potter’s side won four of their opening five, but now find themselves winless in four; having been defeated by only Everton and Man City so far, though, there remains plenty of cause for optimism for supporters of the Seagulls. Potter himself seemed upbeat after the 4-1 defeat to City last week – such a result need not be considered remarkable for Albion, and the team recovered well to put in a respectable second-half showing. The goals columns show 9 for and 9 against for Brighton – further indication that, with further firepower, the top half could become familiar territory. They face a run of games that – though winnable – could go either way after their trip to Anfield: November games against Newcastle, Villa, and Leeds are the sort that could really set the tone for the remainder of the season, seeing Brighton maintain their impressive opening form or drift down into the bottom half.
Our own start to the season – combined with the impressive salvage job at the end of 2020-21 – has been excellent. The Reds are nineteen league games unbeaten since mid-March, and sit a point behind Chelsea in 2nd. Back-to-back draws with Brentford and City – immediately followed by an international break – might have disrupted lesser sides, but Liverpool have been emphatic since that break: a deeply-satisfying 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid at Anfield sandwiched between 5-0 league victories over Watford and Manchester United. Liverpool are full of confidence and – led by the peerless Mo Salah – have an attack that looks back to its best. Indeed, back to being the very best there is. None of the trio fancied for the title face one another again in the league this calendar year, and so for Liverpool – like the others – this weekend and the coming months really are just about getting the job done.
A week of League Cup – rather than European – football comes at a good time for Liverpool, with the Reds midfield having been somewhat depleted during recent weeks. Klopp will likely make wholesale changes and give most senior players a rest against Preston, whilst Potter takes his side to face Leicester – a tricky tie in a competition that both sides might fancy a run in. The home side are likely to still be without Thiago for Brighton, whilst James Milner will also miss out after picking up an injury against United – Naby Keita, thankfully, is likely to be available after a lucky escape in the same match. The visitors, meanwhile, are at relatively full-strength aside from long-term absences of Danny Welbeck and Steven Alzate, the match-winner in February.
Cheers all 
« Last Edit: October 30, 2021, 04:34:40 pm by Rush 82 »
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