Player Ratings: Brighton & Hove Albion 1–5 Liverpool

Here are the player ratings for both sides following Liverpool’s 5-1 win at Brighton over the weekend. Following Liverpool’s victory they are anything from 40/1 to 66/1 to win the Premier League. Probably more interestingly, Liverpool at 5/4 with some bookmakers not to finish in this season’s top 4. The win and good performance from the team, as you will see from the ratings below, suggests they are a better bet to finish in the Champions League places (8/15 in many places).

Brighton & Hove Albion

Mathew Ryan 5

Not an easy afternoon for the Australian – conceded five times and could have been more.

Bruno – 5

Hardly ventured forward to assist Knockaert and spent much of his afternoon worrying about the runs of Robertson.

Shane Duffy – 6

Was fouled by Henderson in the penalty area which resulted in Brighton’s goal from the penalty spot – made to look slow by Liverpool’s attackers.

Lewis Dunk – 5

Struggled against the talent and speed-of-thought of Firmino – headed into his own net – his third own goal of the season – to give Liverpool their fifth goal.

Gaetan Bong – 6

Seemed caught out by Liverpool’s change of shape as he never got to grips with Alexander-Arnold’s intelligent positioning and runs.

Davy Propper – 5

Was out-fought and out-thought by Liverpool’s midfield who dominated for much of the match.

Dale Stephens – 6

Trying to keep Coutinho’s influence to a minimum is never easy but on Saturday it was nigh on impossible.

Isaiah Brown – 6

Exhibited his pace at times on the left-side and the Chelsea loanee produced a good low cross in the first half that should have ended with a goal.

Anthony Knockaert – 6

An average performance from a player who often impresses – when facing teams like Liverpool, attacking players must put in the effort to defend and harry but on this occasion, the Frenchman didn’t.

Pascal Gross – 5

Never really supported Murray in attacking areas nor helped the midfield and defence with preventing Liverpool run riot – not sure what he did all afternoon.

Glenn Murray – 6

Although he scored Brighton’s only goal from the penalty spot he was wasteful with the few chances that came his way during normal play.

Liverpool

Simon Mignolet – 7

Was barely troubled by a flaccid Brighton attack – however, he did have one important save to make against Murray in the second-half.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8

Brought in at right wing-back and impressed – an offering of constant quality and energy down the flank matched with defensive aptitude.

Emre Can – 8

Defensive injuries led to Klopp using a new system and consequently Can found himself playing at right centre-back – played with purpose and poise and scored Liverpool’s opener.

Dejan Lovren – 7

Was assured and confident in the new system – made a couple of important interceptions.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 7

Exemplified his versatility by playing at left centre-back – limited the influence of Knockaert and put off Murray with a last-ditch tackle in front of an open goal.

Andrew Robertson – 7

Many fans got what they wanted with Robertson starting – played intelligently even though he was outshone by Alexander-Arnold on the right.

Jordan Henderson – 6

Didn’t quite look as sharp or as inventive as you’d expect from Liverpool’s captain – fouled Duffy that led to Brighton’s penalty but, as always, he worked his socks off.

James Milner – 7

Provided a typical under-the-radar performance but one that allowed the attackers in front of him to work their magic – an improvement on his performance against Chelsea.

Mohamed Salah – 8

Not quite at his best but still played a key role in both of Firmino’s goal either side of half-time.

Philippe Coutinho – 9

Played with eloquence and ease – provided a lovely first-time assist for Firmino and scored ‘two’ of his own in the latter stages.

Roberto Firmino – 8

Should have done much better with an early headed chance but soon made amends by scoring a brace – his performance was particularly easy-on-the-eye.

Oliver Miller

FoL's Matchday Correspondent @oliver_miller

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