Brighton March to Solly’s tune
Brighton 3 Liverpool 0, 14th January 2023.
Brighton 3 Liverpool 0, 14th January 2023.
BRIGHTON 3 (March 46 and 53, Welbeck 81)
LIVERPOOL 0
“Oh Sussex, Sussex by the Sea!
Good old Sussex by the Sea!
You may tell them all we stand or fall,
For Sussex by the Sea”.
Ever the traditionalists, Brighton and Hove Albion still enter the field of play to the glorious musical refrain of “Sussex by the Sea” and I can’t help but think of a Sussex born gentleman who didn’t support Brighton but rather tolerated Manchester United to placate a wife who bore him four children. A footballing agnostic, an Arsenal fan and two Liverpool fans isn’t a bad return for a passionate fan of Manchester United and boy can I still see her beaming smile as she used to sing this grand old seaside anthem in deference to the man who adored her.
That grand old anthem to a long ago footballing past reverberated around a stadium for a newer footballing future today as seventy year old records were broken by a team in blue and white stripes who thoroughly dismantled a team that were on the verge of quadruple winning greatness mere months ago. In the first half in particular, “the men from Sussex, Sussex by the Sea” were simply dismantling and pulling apart a team they played at their own, and now old, game. Bloody minded determination to “rat around” in midfield, to grab that damn ball back, control the tempo of a pressing game, squeezing the life out of the middle third of the pitch with strikers retreating to defend and start attacks, midfielders pressing forward for transitional loose balls. Brighton reminded me so much of the Liverpool team that were on the verge of ridiculous greatness less than a year ago.
And I have no idea where that team has gone.
Injuries have seen the core of the team missing either long term or stop and start short term, and Sadio Mane will always remain a huge miss. I called this season early on as a “Sword of Damocles” affair. After threatening to win everything in sight last season, this year would always be a huge come down regardless but I never saw the downfall being so rapid and so far south, and on the south coast of Sussex by the Sea. At the break, the Reds had registered just one single shot off target only and by the end of their chastening and 3–0 thrashing, for that’s what this afternoon was, a thrashing, they’d added just two shots on target (two tame headers in fact) and only garnered their first corner of the game in the 90th minute.
Aside from this, I noted Joel Matip’s yellow card just after the quarter of an hour mark as Brighton’s Japanese striker Kaoru Mitoma ran both him and his defensive mates ragged, causing havoc wherever he roamed, and the yellow card dished out to skipper Jordan Henderson on half an hour as he “left one on” Moises Caicedo. It was a legitimate if snide tackle on the Ecuadorian and a badge of honour of sorts. Caicedo had been magnificent for the first 30 minutes of the game, the central hub to all of his team’s bright and inventive work as well as the hard yards of persistent tackling, pressing and harassing the Reds to relinquish control of the ball. Henderson’s tackle was one of authority, to kick, hassle and hustle Brighton out of their stride, and his team into theirs. That it failed so miserably speaks volumes for the team he currently leads and a team that isn’t even a shadow of their former selves.
It’s looking far worse than that.
Brighton were magnificent and fully deserved of their comprehensive win. I compiled my matchday notes in 15 minute quarters today and the team in the blue and white stripes dominated every quarterly phase. Ending my first quarter of notes with Brighton acting as “terriers in the middle of the field”, this was exemplified by ex Liverpool Red Adam Lallana, the industry of World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and the nagging, probing forward runs of Kaoru Mitoma. The second 15 minute spell was all Moises Caicedo and the lead up to the half-time break was now Kaoru Mitoma probing and stretching the Reds defence once more, the deep intuitive positions being taken up by fellow striker Evan Ferguson (who was outstanding) and the correctly ruled out goal from Sully March for offside.
March would get his goal, two in fact, the second a wondrous move that cut open the Reds midfield and defence before his sublime cross shot past a helpless Alisson Becker in the Reds goal and on 53 minutes, Brighton had a deserved two goal cushion. Ten minutes later, and after a team move that calmly and assuredly swept from defence into midfield and back again, one touch, two touch passes pulling the Reds out of position and creating ever larger swathes of untroubled possession in the centre of the field, Kaoru Mitoma drilled a low shot forcing Alisson Becker into another score line saving save. Controlled possession, stretching the opposition, slowly, slowly then, with space to play and opposition players out of position, quick one-two passes in small triangles and you’ve released your striker(s) again, bearing down on goal. It was all so reminiscent of a Liverpool team from not a long time ago.
Brighton’s third goal came from a throw-in (yes, a throw-in) and with a touch or two of class, ex Arsenal and Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck scored a well taken goal, and that rather put a humbling full stop to a quite dreadful afternoon.
Shall we sing another bar of “Sussex by the Sea” or shall we just forget that this afternoon even happened?
Afterword
Liverpool Boss, Jurgen Klopp:
“Congratulations to Brighton, they played an outstanding game. I really thought in moments we made it a little bit too easy for them, but in general they played outstanding and we didn’t”.
“We had these moments, but there was no moment in the game where we could get a little lift and go from there. Then doubt comes and it is horrible to watch, to be honest. I think everybody with a Brighton shirt on or a Brighton heart enjoyed the game a lot and I don’t think anybody with a Liverpool heart enjoyed it for a second”.
Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson:
“I thought Brighton were better than us in all departments, to be honest. It’s a real low point for us today as a team. We need to stay together. There’s an honest bunch of lads in there and it’s a tough moment for us as a team, for sure, but we need to get together, we need to stay together and try to change things really quickly because the games are coming thick and fast and we need to try to learn from the day as best we can and show a reaction”.
“So, big games coming up and you’ve just got to keep your head down, work together, stay together as a team. Because this is the moment where people can think individually and do their own thing — but it’s important we stay together and come through this, and it’ll make us stronger in the end”.
Quotes taken from www.liverpoolfc.com
Thanks for reading. Following the recent World Cup shindig in Qatar, here are my thoughts on the Reds three previous games since the resumption of the Premier League season. A vast trove of various articles on the Reds can also be found within the “Liverpool FC” archive list too:
Holders still in the FA Cup but an unwanted replay looms at Molineux
Liverpool 2 Wolves 2, 7th January 2023medium.com
“Shambolic” Reds stung by the Bees
Brentford 3 Liverpool 1, 2nd January 2023.medium.com
Foxes come bearing Christmas gifts for a below par Reds
Liverpool 2 Leicester City 1, 30th December 2022.medium.com