Liverpool player ratings vs Brighton: Keita 9, Williams ‘excellent’

Liverpool beat Brighton 3-1 at the Amex Stadium.

Liverpool sprung a few surprises with selection, with Neco Williams earning his first ever Premier League start. This was one of three changes from the 2-0 win against Aston Villa.

Naby Keita retained his place, with Fabinho and Sadio Mane dropping out for Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moved into Mane’s role on the Liverpool left.

Both sides had taken seven points from their four games since football’s return – with both losing to Manchester clubs (Liverpool to City, Brighton to United).

Liverpool hadn’t scored a Premier League away goal for nearly eight hours – but had two within eight minutes at the Amex.

Brighton’s defensive strategy has been to play out this season – and fair play, that’s refreshing, especially when we’re used to seeing the direct football of Burnley and Newcastle.

But it was the thorn in their side for both early strikes.

First, Davy Propper failed to control a ball under pressure from Naby Keita. The Guinean squared for Mohamed Salah who finished customarily into the bottom left corner.

Just three minutes later Keita again intercepted, feeding Roberto Firmino who played in Salah.

The Egyptian laid off to the Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who slammed home from 20 yards.

Brighton pulled one back through Leandro Trossard before half-time – but Salah doubled his tally as Potter’s men pushed for an equaliser late on.

Here are the player ratings from the match.

Becker wasn’t troubled too much during the match, but did have a few shaky moments distribution wise despite being his usual consummate self.

He missed a few punches from corners, but his performance is only poor judged against his excellent outings this season.