From Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Brighton, here are 5 key points.

Despite taking the lead thanks to a brace from Mohamed Salah, Liverpool had to settle for a point on Sunday after a 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Alexis MacAllister’s pocket was picked by Simon Adingra after only 20 minutes at the Amex, and Adingra then caught Alisson off-guard with a meek effort from distance.
This gave Roberto De Zerbi’s team the lead.

Surprisingly, the visitors did manage to lead at the break. Salah completed a superb team move in the 40th minute by slipping the ball into the far corner from inside the box.

Five minutes later, Dominik Szoboszlai was taken to the ground after Liverpool’s aggressive pressing caught the Brighton defense off guard. Salah stepped up and skillfully buried the penalty kick in stoppage time of the first half.

Jürgen Klopp’s team had the upper hand for the majority of the second half until Lewis Dunk scored from Solly March’s free kick with 15 minutes remaining thanks to yet another defensive blunder, this time by the usually dependable Andy Robertson.

Here are five game-related talking points as Liverpool blows a chance to move up a spot.

1) A REAL TACTICAL BATTLE

In addition to facing a team full of highly skilled technicians when playing Brighton, you’ll also be up against De Zerbi, a master tactician with the dexterity to adjust his game plan to suit any opponent.

Jürgen Klopp had clearly recognized this and adjusted his strategy as a result.
Without the ball in the first half, the Reds were arranged in a 4-4-2 formation.
It was a lot more fluid with it.

The Reds were able to maintain their dominance in midfield thanks to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return and more natural transition into the position than Joe Gomez. Harvey Elliott’s unexpected addition also allowed Mohamed Salah to move into a more central position.

2) SALAH DROPPING DEEP.

Salah playing as a number ten was the one unexpected result of the tactical tit for tat in the first half.

Darwin Nez was in charge of the line, and the Egyptian dropped into spots where many spectators had probably never seen him before.
At one point, he even ventured deep to try and grab the ball from Alisson.

Despite being in excellent creative form, Salah was unable to deliver the decisive pass from the middle.
He still managed to score twice in the opening period despite that.

3) MAC ALLISTER REQUIRES ASSISTANCE IN THE “SIX.”

After Ryan Gravenberch entered the game in the second half, the formation returned to its more usual state, with Dominik Szoboszlai moving deeper to assist Alexis MacAllister, who, not for the first time this year, didn’t appear to be at ease playing at the base of the midfield.

Although Virgil van Dijk provided a poor pass for Brighton’s opening goal, he was caught off guard and gave up the ball when he was essentially the last line of defense.
Additionally, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, this occurred twice in one half.
At halftime, he was hooked there.

His accurate passing in congested spaces helps the Reds to maintain momentum when they are ahead.

But it’s increasingly obvious that he performs at his best in the opposing half.

In the long run, we must either bring Stefan Bajcetic or Wataru Endo up to speed, or return to the transfer market in January.
André, perhaps?

4) EXPENSIVE DEFENSIVE MISTAKES.

Brighton’s goals came as a result of Liverpool’s own fault in a game where neither team had many clear-cut opportunities.

Simon Adingra’s opening goal rendered Alisson rather inept by his usual high standards.
As the ball wasn’t moving very quickly, he committed to the dive too soon after Alexis Mac Allister was taken advantage of and lost his bearings.

Even though it would be simple to blame either of these two, it was captain Virgil van Dijk who passed to Mac Allister when he already had two opponents on his tail.
When playing out from the back, staying alert is essential, and Van Dijk should know better.

Andy Robertson ought to do the same.
His shoddy defending was the direct cause of Dunk’s equalizer.
At a point when Liverpool had felt like they were largely in control of the game, Dunk made it 2-2 by seemingly backing down from clearing Solly March’s free-kick at the near post.

5. A THIN BENCH.

Liverpool are stacked in the offensive third of the field when compared to other areas.
However, Jürgen Klopp was limited to using young Ben Doak as a substitute today because Cody Gakpo was out due to an injury and Diogo Jota was suspended.

Darwin Nez and Luis Dáz both had relatively quiet days by their standards and wouldn’t have had a problem being hooked off on any other day.

Instead, after being set back, the Reds never seemed to have a chance to score the crucial third goal.