Liverpool’s hopes of retaining the Premier League title took a major dent on Wednesday night as Graham Potter’s Brighton secured a shock 1-0 win at Anfield.
It was another lacklustre display by Jurgen Klopp’s men, who only registered a single shot on target against the Seagulls who fully deserved their victory.
A fortnight ago, a 68-game run was ended by the Clarets and this was a similar story as Klopp’s side dominated possession but lacked a cutting edge.
The visitors created the best chances and the margin of victory could have been greater but Steven Alzate seized the moment with his first Premier League goal in his 28th appearance shortly after the interval.
Liverpool’s two new defensive signings watched from the Main Stand, Ben Davies on the bench and Ozan Kabak sat just behind not in the squad, but it was problems at the other end which were costly.
After no shots on target from either side in the opening 54 minutes, the visitors found the net with their first attempt.
Dan Burn popped up at the far post to knock a cross back into the danger area and Alzate ran onto it to loop a shot inside the far post.
Klopp’s side missed the thrust of Sadio Mane, whom the manager will hope has recovered from a muscle injury in time for the visit of Manchester City on Sunday, as they cannot afford another off-day against the league leaders.
Defeat dropped Liverpool to fourth and left them seven points behind City, who have a match in hand, while Brighton are 10 points clear of the bottom three.
The result spell an end to Liverpool’s 12-game unbeaten run against Brighton in all competitions (W10 D2), which stretched back to a 2-0 FA Cup defeat in January 1984, while the Reds have also lost consecutive home matches for the first time in nine years.