Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a moment to forget just four minutes into Liverpool’s return to Premier League action after the international break.
The right-back was left out of England’s squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures with Italy and Germany, leading to widespread debate about whether he would make the cut for the World Cup.
Unfortunately, based on his start against Brighton, he might still have some work to do.
New manager Roberto De Zerbi’s side made a bright start to the clash at Anfield with Danny Welbeck picking up the ball on the edge of the penalty area.
He threaded a pass through to Leandro Trossard who wrong-footed Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the area, putting the defender on his backside in the process.
With a free shot at goal, Trossard placed a smart effort beyond Alisson and into the bottom corner of the net to give Brighton the lead with just four minutes on the clock.
With Alexander-Arnold in need of some good performances to get into the England fold, he’ll be very disappointed with the manner in which they conceded that opener.
However, the 23-year-old was again at fault as Brighton went 2-0 up 14 minutes later.
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Alexander-Arnold lost the ball to Welbeck, who played through Trossard again and another well-taken effort made it 2-0 to the Seagulls – the forward becoming the first visiting player to score a first-half double at Anfield since October 2008
Reporting for talkSPORT, Matt Jones said: “Liverpool 0 Brighton 2 and it’s Leandro Trossard who has got it again.
“We were talking about Trent Alexander-Arnold and it’s his touch that gifts the ball to Danny Welbeck. Welbeck then finds the ball into the middle of the box where he picks out Trossard who slams the ball home into the same corner where he scored the opener.
“Alisson will be really disappointed to be beaten from that angle and Liverpool have been in absolute disarray. They really do have a mountain to climb.”
But climb they did.
The Reds soon pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 through Roberto Firmino, with the goal awarded after a lengthy VAR break after it was initially flagged for offside.
And the Brazilian struck again after the break to make it 2-2 after a lovely bit of play from Luis Diaz, with Brighton surrendering their two-goal lead.
Trossard’s early strike made it a fifth consecutive home game where Liverpool have conceded the first goal – but it’s worth remembering that didn’t lose any of those previous four games.