Solly March:
He might not be the most glamorous or well-known of Premier League footballers, but he’s a fine and reliable player, is Solly March. Brighton wouldn’t swap him for anyone, I’m sure, and he was their match-winner here. Starting on the right of the home side’s attack, the 28-year-old was a permanent threat as he stretched the pitch, found space with ease and constantly ran at a Reds backline that got little to no protection from what was in front of it. March might have had a penalty in the first half when fouled by Alisson Becker, only for the VAR to spot a tight offside, but he was there where it mattered to slip home Kaoru Mitoma’s low cross and open the scoring, two minutes after the break, and soon after he was there again, arrowing a beautiful left-foot shot across Alisson and into the far corner, after yet another lung-busting run from deep. He’s played more than 250 games for Albion, the majority in the top flight, but is yet to win a senior England cap. Playing like this, that could change soon.
Kaoru Mitoma:
You didn’t have to look far to find strong performers in blue and white, but aside from March, one man stood out a mile. Never mind Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, in Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton have found themselves another gem who looks like he could earn them big money down the line. The 25-year-old Japanese international actually joined the Seagulls in 2021, but spent last season on loan in Belgium with Union Saint-Gilloise as he waited to qualify for a UK work permit. He’s here now, though, and boy can he play. Starting on the left of Roberto De Zerbi’s attack, he was too quick and too sharp for Trent Alexander-Arnold, repeatedly storming past the England international and into dangerous positions. From one of those, he was able to set up the opener for March, and he might have capitalised himself on a few others, denied on more than one occasion by Alisson or by desperate defending. He got a standing ovation when replaced late on, and no wonder. This was a hell of a display. The kind Liverpool could do with, actually.
Liverpool’s injured players:
There’s only one to come out well from a performance like this; don’t be a part of it. The return of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk cannot come soon enough, as far as the Reds are concerned, but the worry is that even a full-strength squad wouldn’t solve this team’s issues. This is a broken side, one in need of desperate surgery. And quick.
