Liverpool ease past Brighton to narrow gap to Manchester City

Liverpool moved within touching distance of Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League after a 2-0 win at Brighton.

The Seagulls had fought back from two goals behind to force a draw at Anfield in October but there were no slip-ups for Jurgen Klopp's side this time around as they left the south coast with all three points.

A Luis Diaz header gave Liverpool the lead in the first half – but the forward received a heavy blow in the process as Robert Sanchez rushed off his line. However, VAR review ruled there was no red card for the goalkeeper.

Mohamed Salah’s second half penalty doubled Liverpool’s advantage and they saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease to move to within three points of Manchester City, with a game in hand.

Liverpool recorded an eighth successive Premier League victory, a run which has seen them score 21 goals and concede just two, as they bounced back from their first home defeat in a year against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

Brighton’s poor run of form continued as they slipped to a fifth defeat in a row – and they were unable to add to their poor tally of one goal in their last five matches.

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The Seagulls started brightly, and came the closest to scoring in the first five minutes when Alexis Mac Allister crossed for Neal Maupay, who tried his luck from the edge of the area but was just wide of the target.

Klopp said before the game he expected a reaction after the Reds experienced only their third defeat of the season to Inter Milan midweek, but they struggled to get going before Diaz put Liverpool ahead in the 20th minute.

Diaz bravely headed the ball into the back of the net before being clattered by Sanchez rushing out of his goal, the medics were waived on