- Entrou
- Out 5, 2021
- Mensagens
- 61,925
- Gostos Recebidos
- 1,858
Arne Slot’s major Liverpool change from Jurgen Klopp tenure pays off in dominant FA Cup win
Liverpool were at their best as Arne Slot's side put Brighton to the sword in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield, thanks to strikes from Curtis Jones, Dominik Szobszlai and Mohamed Salah
Liverpool dispatched hopeless Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield, downing the Seagulls in a dominant 3-0 win thanks to goals from Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
With Liverpool’s best chance of silverware this season being in the FA Cup, and the only other trophy realistically on offer being the Champions League, Slot named a strong team – something that is largely contrasting from what Jurgen Klopp did during his tenure.
The German took the opportunity to give 13 academy players their debuts in the competition, and gave countless appearances to other young Reds. But despite Brighton without a win in five games and Fabian Hurzeler opting to leave a host of regular starters on the bench, Slot made only a handful of changes.
From the Sunderland win on Wednesday, the Dutchman made four changes, including the enforced switch to bring Dominik Szoboszlai back in at right-back in place of the injured Wataru Endo.
Milos Kerkez, Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa also came in for Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike, who were all named on the bench.
On a night where Brighton might have looked to go at Liverpool free from the shackles of their worrying league form, the Reds didn’t come under any such early pressure as the host’s dominated the ball in the opening stages.
Despite the possession, Liverpool failed to do little to turn it into chances, with the closest they came before Cody Gakpo saw a header correctly ruled out for offside, was when Jones’ shot from distance took a deflection just wide of the post. Kerkez also forced Jason Steele into a stretching save from a half volley before the break.
One of the best moments of the first-half was TNT Sports cameras showing a fully grown man wearing a Seagull mask in the Brighton end, causing Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist to belly laugh their way through the camera panning back to the away end.
That was until Liverpool finally knocked their way through Brighton’s defence as Jones stabbed Kerkez’s cross into the roof of the net from close range in the 41st minute. The strike was the 24-year-old’s first goal since Boxing Day 2024.
Brighton stepped up on the Reds in the second 45 and wrestled back the possession as well after sitting off in the first-half. The goal forced the Seagulls to press higher up the pitch and Liverpool clinically took their visitors apart in two passes to double the lead.
A switch of play from Cody Gakpo on the left found Mohamed Salah on the right, and before the Egyptian even had chance to control the ball, Szoboszlai was on his bike running from deep in behind the backline.
Salah’s inch-perfect touch cushioned the ball into the Hungarian’s path for him to smash the ball past Steele to round off a ruthless move and give the Reds comfort in the game. Blink and you would miss it.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former England keeper Paul Robinson lauded: “The confidence has come back into this place, you can feel it.
“There were question marks over Slot's job, but with recent performances and performances things will be going quiet, especially if they see this out today.”
The confidence is also back in Salah as he bullied his way past Ferdi Kadioglou before he was felled by Pascal Gross in the box. The 33-year-old stepped up and unerringly dispatched the ball into the roof of the net. Just the Egyptian's second Reds goal since the first day of November.
Rio Ngumoha also put the ball in the back of the net with a smart finish but he was ruled offside. However, the goal might have been given if VAR was in operation - as all fourth round ties don't have the technology - the tight offside call might have been overturned.
The same can’t be said about Brighton boss Hurzeler. Albion are nervously looking over their shoulder on a winless run of six games without a win in the league, and picking up just one victory since the end of November.
Daily Star Sunday
Liverpool were at their best as Arne Slot's side put Brighton to the sword in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield, thanks to strikes from Curtis Jones, Dominik Szobszlai and Mohamed Salah
Liverpool dispatched hopeless Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round at Anfield, downing the Seagulls in a dominant 3-0 win thanks to goals from Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah.
With Liverpool’s best chance of silverware this season being in the FA Cup, and the only other trophy realistically on offer being the Champions League, Slot named a strong team – something that is largely contrasting from what Jurgen Klopp did during his tenure.
The German took the opportunity to give 13 academy players their debuts in the competition, and gave countless appearances to other young Reds. But despite Brighton without a win in five games and Fabian Hurzeler opting to leave a host of regular starters on the bench, Slot made only a handful of changes.
From the Sunderland win on Wednesday, the Dutchman made four changes, including the enforced switch to bring Dominik Szoboszlai back in at right-back in place of the injured Wataru Endo.
Milos Kerkez, Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa also came in for Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike, who were all named on the bench.
On a night where Brighton might have looked to go at Liverpool free from the shackles of their worrying league form, the Reds didn’t come under any such early pressure as the host’s dominated the ball in the opening stages.
Despite the possession, Liverpool failed to do little to turn it into chances, with the closest they came before Cody Gakpo saw a header correctly ruled out for offside, was when Jones’ shot from distance took a deflection just wide of the post. Kerkez also forced Jason Steele into a stretching save from a half volley before the break.
One of the best moments of the first-half was TNT Sports cameras showing a fully grown man wearing a Seagull mask in the Brighton end, causing Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist to belly laugh their way through the camera panning back to the away end.
That was until Liverpool finally knocked their way through Brighton’s defence as Jones stabbed Kerkez’s cross into the roof of the net from close range in the 41st minute. The strike was the 24-year-old’s first goal since Boxing Day 2024.
Brighton stepped up on the Reds in the second 45 and wrestled back the possession as well after sitting off in the first-half. The goal forced the Seagulls to press higher up the pitch and Liverpool clinically took their visitors apart in two passes to double the lead.
A switch of play from Cody Gakpo on the left found Mohamed Salah on the right, and before the Egyptian even had chance to control the ball, Szoboszlai was on his bike running from deep in behind the backline.
Salah’s inch-perfect touch cushioned the ball into the Hungarian’s path for him to smash the ball past Steele to round off a ruthless move and give the Reds comfort in the game. Blink and you would miss it.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former England keeper Paul Robinson lauded: “The confidence has come back into this place, you can feel it.
“There were question marks over Slot's job, but with recent performances and performances things will be going quiet, especially if they see this out today.”
The confidence is also back in Salah as he bullied his way past Ferdi Kadioglou before he was felled by Pascal Gross in the box. The 33-year-old stepped up and unerringly dispatched the ball into the roof of the net. Just the Egyptian's second Reds goal since the first day of November.
Rio Ngumoha also put the ball in the back of the net with a smart finish but he was ruled offside. However, the goal might have been given if VAR was in operation - as all fourth round ties don't have the technology - the tight offside call might have been overturned.
The same can’t be said about Brighton boss Hurzeler. Albion are nervously looking over their shoulder on a winless run of six games without a win in the league, and picking up just one victory since the end of November.
Daily Star Sunday