Liverpool climbed to fourth in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on Sunday. A Florian Wirtz-inspired own goal from Pascal Gross gave the Reds the lead, before Alexander Isak doubled the advantage before the break. Andoni Iraola's side then held firm in the second half to secure their fourth successive victory.
National Media Praise for Liverpool's Expensive Duo
Writing in The Times, Paul Joyce highlighted Ronald Araujo's defensive contributions, noting that Liverpool's afternoon ended as it began, with Araujo bursting through challenges and winning tackles to important effect amid acclaim from the home crowd. Joyce also observed that Brighton, previously the league's great free-scoring entertainers, returned to earth with a bump, and that Liverpool emerged triumphant from their personal duels to maintain momentum in what could be a pivotal week for Iraola.
In the Daily Mail, Lewis Steele reflected on the stormy conditions, noting that purple wheelie bins had tumbled, a racing meet at nearby Aintree was abandoned, and train timetables were disrupted as Storm Boelo battered Merseyside. He wrote that high-flying Brighton were blown away by Storm Liverpool, with two goals in four first-half minutes putting the game beyond reach. Steele credited Alexander Isak for the second goal, made by Bradley Barcola, as the £248m double act combined again after doing so at Brentford the previous week, while also praising Florian Wirtz.
A Landmark Goal and a Pivotal Week Ahead
Dominic King of The Telegraph described the Barcola-Isak combination as a niche moment in Liverpool's history, noting that Anfield has never seen a more expensively created goal. At a combined cost of £248m, the pair achieved a little landmark, but King stressed that the three points were more important, with Iraola's reign starting to take shape. He called it an important afternoon for the head coach against a Brighton side that had won their last four Premier League fixtures with a combined aggregate of 15-0, and suggested this was the most significant success to date for Iraola, whose team defended relentlessly to preserve a clean sheet.
The ECHO's verdict described the 2-0 victory as a potential statement result in the opening months of Iraola's reign, noting that Brighton had scored a league-high 23 goals prior to kick-off and had shipped just five all season. It also highlighted Brighton's impressive 3-0 win over Arsenal the previous month, setting up a massive game when Arsenal visit Anfield next Sunday. The ECHO suggested that, with Manchester City's guilty verdict still lingering, a positive result against Mikel Arteta's champions could catapult Liverpool into title talk.
