Liverpool Beat Brighton 2-0 at Anfield as Isak Scores and Gross Turns One Into His Own Net

Liverpool beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday in Premier League Matchday 8, scoring twice in four first half minutes and then protecting the lead for the rest of the afternoon. Pascal Gross turned the ball into his own net in the 17th minute, and Alexander Isak doubled the lead in the 21st minute. The result is Liverpool's fourth straight victory in all competitions, their first league win at Anfield this season, and it ends Brighton's eight game unbeaten run.

Four minutes decide the match

The opening goal came in the 17th minute and it went down as an own goal. Florian Wirtz applied the pressure that forced the error, and Gross put the ball past his own goalkeeper to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead. An own goal is a hard way for any side to fall behind at Anfield, and Brighton had very little time to settle before the second goal arrived.

Four minutes later, in the 21st minute, Bradley Barcola set up Isak and the striker finished from a cross inside the box to make it 2-0. The goal was Isak's sixth of the season. Two goals in four minutes changed the shape of the whole match. Brighton now had to chase the game on the road, and Liverpool could defend a two goal lead with a full second half still to play. Neither side scored again. The first half goals stood as the final scoring of the day, and the match finished 2-0.

Brighton had the ball, Liverpool had the goals

The match statistics recorded by Sky Sports show how unusual the pattern of the game was. Brighton finished with 64.3 percent of possession to Liverpool's 35.7 percent, so the visitors saw far more of the ball across the 90 minutes. The shot count was level at 12 each. Brighton also recorded the higher expected goals figure, 1.17 to Liverpool's 0.85.

The difference was accuracy. Liverpool put four shots on target and Brighton put only one on target. Two of Liverpool's efforts produced goals in the space of four minutes, one forced into his own net by Gross and one finished by Isak. Brighton, for all their possession, tested the Liverpool goal only once on target all afternoon. A side can hold the ball for long spells and still lose the moments that decide a match, and that is the story these numbers tell. Liverpool were direct in the first half, and careful enough after the break to keep a clean sheet while Brighton pressed without a finish to show for it.

A first home league win, and an unbeaten run ends

The win matters for Liverpool beyond the three points. It is their first league victory at Anfield this season, in front of an attendance of 60,404, with Sam Barrott refereeing the match. It also extends Liverpool's winning run to four straight in all competitions, a sequence that builds confidence in a squad that had waited for a first home league win of the campaign.

For Brighton, the defeat closes an eight game unbeaten run. They leave Anfield with the larger share of possession, level shots and the higher expected goals number, but with no goals and no points. Liverpool take the result their first half spell earned them, and Brighton are left to count the cost of a four minute spell that settled the match before half time.