Brighton & Hove Albion twice fought back from a goal down to secure a brilliant 3-2 victory over newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool at the Amex Stadium on Monday night. The win marks Brighton’s first triumph over the Reds in their last five encounters and significantly boosts their hopes of securing European football next season.
Despite Liverpool having already wrapped up the league title, they showed early intent when Cody Gakpo went close in the opening minute. The visitors took the lead in the ninth minute through Harvey Elliott, who tapped home a Conor Bradley cut-back following a sweeping pass from Dominik Szoboszlai and a clever touch from Mohamed Salah.
Brighton responded well to the setback, and after chances for Yankuba Minteh and Danny Welbeck, they found an equaliser in the 32nd minute. Yasin Ayari controlled a perfectly weighted pass from Brajan Gruda before calmly slotting past Alisson Becker.
However, Liverpool regained the lead in the dying moments of the first half in somewhat fortunate fashion. Szoboszlai’s looping effort from a quick free-kick on the right flank appeared to be a cross, but it sailed over Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and into the net.
The second half saw Brighton continue to push for an equaliser. Alisson was called into action to deny Welbeck and Gruda, while Salah uncharacteristically missed a golden opportunity to extend Liverpool’s lead. Welbeck’s frustration in front of goal continued as he slipped while shooting, allowing Alisson to make another save.
Just after Verbruggen made a brilliant stop to deny Salah, Brighton finally found their second equaliser in the 69th minute. Alisson saved another Welbeck shot, but substitute Kaoru Mitoma reacted quickest to volley home the rebound.
The decisive moment came with just five minutes of normal time remaining. Another Brighton substitute, Jack Hinshelwood, turned home Matt O�Riley�s cross moments after coming onto the pitch. The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but a VAR review correctly overturned the decision, sparking joyous scenes at the Amex Stadium.
The 3-2 victory lifts Brighton three points above Brentford into eighth place in the Premier League table with just one game remaining, a position that could potentially earn them a spot in European competition next season.
For Liverpool, this marks their first back-to-back away league defeats since April 2023. However, they did achieve a historical feat by scoring in every away match of a top-flight campaign for the first time in their history.
Fabian Hurzeler’s substitutions proved to be the key to Brighton’s comeback, highlighting the depth and tactical flexibility of the Seagulls squad. The win provides a significant boost to their European aspirations heading into the final game of the season.
