Liverpool 2-1 Brighton: Three things we learned in Virgil van Dijk Show

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: Alisson Becker of Liverpool leaves pitch after receiving red card watched by Brighton & Hove Albion goal keeper Mathew Ryan during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on November 30, 2019 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: Alisson Becker of Liverpool leaves pitch after receiving red card watched by Brighton & Hove Albion goal keeper Mathew Ryan during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on November 30, 2019 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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Liverpool 2-1 Brighton player ratings Virgil van Dijk Trent Alexander-Arnold
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 30: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates scoring his teams second goal with team mate Trent Alexander-Arnold during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on November 30, 2019 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Liverpool just keeps on rolling. With a 2-1 win over Brighton, the Reds have 40 points from a possible 42. What did we learn from this game?

With a 2-1 win over Brighton, Liverpool hasn’t dropped points over the last five weeks. With the win, they now have 40 points from a possible 42. More importantly, they now hold an eleven point lead over Manchester City and Leicester City.

At the time of writing, Leicester City hadn’t played game 14 of the season. With a win over Everton on Sunday, the Foxes could cut that deficit to eight points and leapfrog Man City into second.

It wasn’t the greatest win for Liverpool. The 2-1 scoreline can tell you that much.

With a straight red card for a handball, keeper Alisson reduced the Reds to ten men. And then the entire team fell asleep and conceded on a free kick to Lewis Dunk.

Making things worse, Liverpool’s number one keeper will now be out until December 7. Meaning he will be suspended for the derby match against Everton next week and Adrian will get the start.

Dunk’s clever free-kick ruined the possibility for Liverpool’s first clean sheet in the league since their 1-0 win over Sheffield United back on September 28.

I know we shouldn’t be counting clean sheets. Wins should be the only thing that matters. But we haven’t kept a clean sheet in the league for two months. Liverpool might have the best centre back in  the game, but their defense has been more porous than it needs to be.

What did we learn in the 2-1 win?