Liverpool end home league wait with 2-0 Brighton win

Liverpool ended their wait for a first home Premier League win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, ending the visitors’ eight-match unbeaten run and moving up to fourth.

Both goals came inside the opening 21 minutes. Florian Wirtz’s low strike deflected in off Pascal Gross to break the deadlock, before Alexander Isak finished from close range after Bradley Barcola created the opening on the right.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola called the result “very valuable” and said it extended the team’s run to four consecutive wins across all competitions. He said the Reds’ aggressive start set the tone against a technically gifted Brighton side: “Today the key was how we started. We needed a stronger start, be aggressive, recover the ball, win our duels, be dangerous in transitions.”

“For sure, it's been way too long [waiting for a Premier League victory at Anfield] and I think it's a great way to do it: against an in-form team, and the way we did it as well, with a clean sheet. So yeah, delighted,” Isak told Sky Sports after the final whistle.

Isak also praised Barcola’s work in the build-up to the second goal. “Bradley did super good in that and for me it was just about being in the right place to finish it off,” he said.

Brighton’s task was made harder when Ferdi Kadioglu went off with a back injury inside the first six minutes. The visitors had a chance to level before Liverpool scored when Yasin Ayari’s effort struck the post, while Bart Verbruggen also tipped away a powerful drive from Ronald Araujo.

Araujo played the full 90 minutes after being substituted at half-time in Liverpool’s previous two games. Iraola praised the defender’s work in duels, saying: “I think we all enjoyed watching Ronald fighting. He's very good in the duels.”

Brighton committed more men forward after the break but could not find a way through. Iraola praised Liverpool’s defensive work, particularly clearing the ball, blocking shots and crosses, and winning second balls. Isak, who has scored six Premier League goals in seven appearances this season, led the line alongside Wirtz and Barcola as Liverpool recorded their fourth league clean sheet of the campaign in front of 60,404 supporters at Anfield.

Liverpool have 15 points from eight games, one behind Brighton. Brighton face Manchester City twice in four days at the Etihad as they look to return to winning ways.