When Mohamed Salah last faced Brighton at Anfield in December, there was uncertainty over whether he would be seen in a Liverpool shirt again. Two months on and with the Egyptian a starter once more, Salah and Arne Slot reaped the rewards of their appeasement as Liverpool eased into the fifth round with a comfortable victory over Brighton.
Salah produced a sublime assist, his fourth since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, and scored from the penalty spot as Liverpool condemned Brighton to a fourth defeat in five games. There was no evidence of Brighton not performing for the under-pressure Fabian Hürzeler but after a promising start the visitors faded rapidly. Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai, with a superb goal, and Salah capitalised in a commanding victory.
Slot admitted he had struggled to sleep while wrestling with the dilemma of whether to rest overloaded players at risk of injury or go strong for an important fixture. He ultimately leaned towards the latter, leaving Hugo Ekitiké and Ryan Gravenberch out of the starting lineup as a precaution but fielding his strongest available side otherwise. There would be no repeat of last season’s fourth-round selection and shock at Plymouth.
The cursed right-back shift went to Jones on this occasion, with Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong all injured and Joe Gomez deemed not fit enough to start.
A blood-and-thunder cup tie this was not. Liverpool needed half an hour to find any urgency while Brighton had the better of the opening exchanges without seriously troubling Alisson. The under-pressure Hürzeler could take some encouragement from his players’ confidence in possession and willingness to press the Liverpool defence.
Jones, frequently drifting into more familiar midfield territory, signalled the start of the hosts’ improvement when sending an angled drive just wide of Jason Steele’s top corner. Cody Gakpo headed in from Szoboszlai’s whipped free-kick minutes later but from an offside position. Liverpool were finally playing with the intensity and intent that the occasion demanded.
Salah broke clear of Ferdi Kadioglu and had the ball taken off his toes by the Brighton left-back just as he shaped to shoot. Milos Kerkez then stung Steele’s fingertips having been found in space behind the visitors’ defence by Alexis Mac Allister’s quickly taken free-kick.
Brighton could not escape the Liverpool pressure and were finally breached shortly before the interval. A tackle by the striker Charalampos Kostoulas on Mac Allister inadvertently played the ball to Kerkez on the left. The Hungarian full-back swept a dangerous low cross into the six-yard box, where Jones, arriving unmarked between Jan Paul van Hecke and Kadioglu, side-footed home via the underside of the bar. The midfielder’s first goal of the season rewarded a dominant spell by Liverpool yet sparked an immediate response from Brighton.
Jack Hinshelwood could have levelled swiftly when beating Gakpo to Harry Howell’s corner but headed wastefully over at close range. A slip by Jones in first-half stoppage time presented Diego Gómez with a one-v-one against Alisson. The Liverpool keeper came out on top, saving the forward’s low shot with his legs.
Fortune favoured Alisson early in the second half when his clearance struck the in-coming Gómez and rebounded wide of the Liverpool goal. The keeper then made a vital intervention to prevent Lewis Dunk’s header reaching the unmarked Van Hecke. A key moment, as Liverpool in effect settled the tie from their next attack.
The home side’s second was outstanding in its creation and execution. When Gakpo’s crossfield pass found its way to Salah the striker, in one movement, leapt into the air and cushioned the ball into the run of Szoboszlai on the volley. The Hungary captain did not break stride and lashed an emphatic first-time drive past Steele.
Salah won and converted the penalty that brought Liverpool their third. There was a glimpse of the Salah of old as he turned Kadioglu and powered past the left-back into the box, where he was dragged back by Pascal Gross. Stuart Attwell immediately pointed to the spot and the Egypt international gave Steele no chance with a blistering penalty.