Graham Potter flexes his tactical muscles as Brighton stop Salah and leave Anfield with a point

Mohamed Salah headed into Liverpool’s home fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion having scored 14 goals in his last 12 appearances, which included a hat-trick against Manchester United six days previous.

A record-breaking 4.6 million people captained him on Fantasy Premier League for the game against the Seagulls. Brighton Head Coach Graham Potter described him as ‘out-of-this-world’ in the build-up to the game. A growing number of pundits are suggesting that the Egyptian is the best player in the world on current form.

He was therefore not an ideal man for Brighton to be coming up against at the end of a week that had seen them blitzed by Manchester City at the Amex Stadium before exiting the Carabao Cup on penalties against Leicester.

Anfield was hardly an inviting destination to try and pick up a first Premier League win in five games either. Even though a well-worked Steven Alzate goal earned the Seagulls a first league victory at one of English football’s most historic grounds since 1982 in February, that was during a chaotic period of Liverpool’s season that saw them lose six home games in a row.

This season, Jurgen Klopp’s side have had few issues in picking up convincing results both at home and away. They are yet to taste defeat in league or cup competitions, and their ruthless 5-0 win against Manchester United, was an encapsulation of just how determined they are to win back the Premier League title.

This would be a daunting prospect for Potter and his players to come up against even had they come into the fixture in good form, but the fact they arrived at Anfield without a win since mid-September, and on the back of a first-half mauling against City a week beforehand, only heightened the scale of the task of halting the Reds.

Whether that performance specifically inspired Potter to make changes to his line-up is uncertain, but what cannot be denied is that his tactical adjustments against Liverpool played a significant role in helping to keep Salah relatively quiet and secure a much-deserved draw on the day.

The most striking of the changes was the decision to drop Neal Maupay to the bench and effectively play without a recognised striker. Leandro Trossard was shifted forwards into a ‘false nine’ type role with Adam Lallana and Solly March used in more advanced positions than they have regularly been used in this season in order to support the Belgian.

Behind them was a midfield trio possessing both physical presence and an exceptional level of technical competence in Yves Bissouma, Enock Mwepu and Jakub Moder. And rather than the back five that had started against City, Potter deployed a four that included a recall for Shane Duffy, a clear recognition of the Irishman’s impressive start to the season.

A brave approach was typified by an early chance for March when he exploited the home side’s high defensive line to run through on goal before being denied by Alisson from a tight-angle.But from then on, things took a difficult turn.

A rapid Liverpool move, typical of Klopp’s side at their best, ended with Salah pulling the ball back for Jordan Henderson to curl a shot home from the edge of the box, and it was soon followed by some slack Seagulls marking that allowed Sadio Mane to head in an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross, putting the title-chasers two goals to the good after just 24 minutes.

Brighton were fortunate not to be three down when a second Mane goal was ruled out after the ball had hit his hand as he closed down Robert Sanchez.

Despite being behind, Brighton remained committed to their approach just as Potter has over the past three seasons even when results have been hard to come by.

It was a moment tinged with some much-deserved fortune, the type of which is vital if you are to escape Anfield with anything when Klopp’s side are in the sort of form that they have begun the season with, that offered the Seagulls a way back in to the game.

Zambian midfielder Mwepu has found adjusting to life in the Premier League difficult. He was replaced at half-time on the opening day of the campaign at Turf Moor with Brighton trailing 1-0 against Burnley, and he had not started any of the Premier League games between then and the fixture against Liverpool.

He made a positive enough impression from the substitutes’ bench against City, winning the late penalty that allowed Alexis Mac Allister to pull a goal back against the league leaders, to earn a start at Anfield.

In the 41st minute, March played the ball to Mwepu on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area, and without taking a touch, he whipped a shot over the head of Alisson and into the far corner of the net.

Whilst it was a moment of brilliant improvisation from the summer signing, and came at the end of a decent passing move, it is hardly the kind of thing you work on in training, and may well have been aided by the sun shining in the Liverpool goalkeeper’s eyes.

Luck had little to do with the goal that earned the away side a share of the spoils though. It was the type of goal that practically justifies everything Potter has attempted to implement at the Amex in one fluid procession that saw the football gently delivered from one end of the field to the other.

It was everything you should love about Graham Potter’s Brighton.

It began midway through the second half with Sanchez. Evidently not scarred by the disallowed Mane goal, he broke the Liverpool press with a ball out wide to Marc Cucurella. The Spaniard drove forward into the space afforded to him by the accuracy of the pass before whipping a delivery into a central area with several teammates ready to receive it.

There could be no one better in the Brighton side for the ball to fall to in this situation than Lallana. The midfielder took a touch to bring the entire game under his spell before releasing Trossard in the box with his second.

The Belgian forward could have shot for goal with his left foot, last season when Brighton’s finishing often looked uncertain and panicked, he probably would have, but instead he cut inside Andy Robertson and drilled his effort beyond Alisson with his stronger right to draw his side level.

Trossard thought he had won the game in the final 15 minutes, only to be denied by the offside flag, but the point and an impressive comeback at one of the most intimidating environments in world football was enough for Brighton and their head coach to make the journey south with ample plaudits bestowed upon them.

“He (Potter) obviously has a clear idea about football and he is doing a brilliant job. He has brought a clear identity to how he wants his teams to play. He is an innovator and is adventurous.

“He is an absolutely nice fella and his team mirrors his ability. I don’t want to talk the coach of Brighton away to some other clubs, but I think he should not worry about his future.”

– Liverpool Head Coach Jurgen Klopp

In terms of keeping Salah quiet, although both of Brighton’s full-backs in Cucurella and Joel Veltman were tasked with performing a man-marking job on the Egyptian and teammate Mane and did so admirably, it was more the case that his lack of influence on proceedings was a by-product of Brighton’s all-round approach.

A willingness to be aggressive in midfield when the opportunity presented itself, combined with an understanding of when to sit deeper to prevent Liverpool’s rapid forward line exploiting space in behind them, meant it was a world away from the defensive performance provided by Manchester United less than a week ago.

Salah had a goal of his own chalked off for offside early in the second half, but he had less touches of the ball than any Liverpool player that started the game aside from Naby Keita, who was forced off through injury after 19 minutes, and he mustered just two shots across the 90 minutes, less than half his season average of 4.2 per 90.

“It’s a fantastic game of football against a wonderful opponent. We’re happy with a point, delighted with the performance.

“There’s a nice belief in the team, a nice togetherness and resilience. They believe in each other. I’m really pleased because they put so much into that game today.”

– Brighton Head Coach Graham Potter

You could make an argument that playing this way contributed to the bruising first half against City last weekend but it is also responsible for the merit-worthy second half performance against the reigning champions, and it played its part in the Seagulls twice coming from behind to take Leicester to a penalty shootout in midweek.

It helped secure a near-on unthinkable comeback at Anfield and it was an ever-so-tight offside decision away from achieving back-to-back wins at one of the least forgiving stadiums in the Premier League.

Brighton have ended a week that could have hardly been any more difficult with a point and a football philosophy-affirming performance that has possibly further convinced Seagulls supporters that they are currently witnessing something special.

Hosting 19th-place Newcastle United this weekend will be an entirely different challenge, but betting against Potter to find the tactical solution to secure a positive result would be ill-judged. Brighton’s head coach will no doubt remain level-headed despite speculation now linking him with jobs ranging from England manager to head coach of Saturday’s opponents.

Potter has never been one to get carried away either during difficult spells in his first two seasons, nor when results began to match performances at the start of the current campaign, but he will surely allow himself at least a smile of satisfaction after ending a brutal week with further vindication for the stylistic shift he set in motion way back in the summer of 2019.

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