Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp reacts after Brighton's Solly March scored his side's second goal. Photo / AP
Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League qualification have taken a blow after being thrashed at Brighton 3-0 on Sunday.
Solly March scored twice to inflict another setback on Liverpool’s stuttering season, which has seen the Merseyside team lose six times in the English Premier League.
Substitute Danny Welbeck added a third in a win that left Jurgen Klopp’s team seven points adrift of the top four in eighth place.
“I can’t remember a worse game, not only at Liverpool,” Klopp said after the game was done. “I really can’t. This is a really low point.
“Brighton were the better team, it was well deserved. Congratulations to them, they played an outstanding game. It was a very organised team against a not very organised team.”
The 2020 champions have dropped 26 points this season, with just 18 games gone.
Brighton moved above Liverpool into seventh after their first home win over the Reds since 1961.
Brighton had a penalty award overturned by VAR before halftime after replays showed March was offside before being brought down by Alisson.
Brighton’s frustrations were alleviated by a rapid start to the second period as March scored in the 46th minute.
He doubled the advantage seven minutes later with a finish into the right corner from just inside the 18-yard box.
Welbeck sealed Brighton’s deserved victory nine minutes from time.
Old Trafford rejoiced as the final whistle blew on the 189th Manchester derby.
A win against Manchester City is always something to celebrate. This, however, felt like more for the Manchester United fans.
A come-from-behind 2-1 victory on Sunday was the latest evidence of the team’s improvement under manager Erik ten Hag and the potential of an unlikely Premier League title challenge.
“The belief is back and we’re in a good direction,” Ten Hag said.
Substitute Jack Grealish had put City ahead in the second half, but goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford secured the points for United and went some way toward avenging the humiliating 6-3 loss to their neighbour in October.
The win also puts United just one point behind defending champion City and up to third in the standings — six points behind leaders Arsenal.
For now Ten Hag is dismissing the idea of United being in contention for a first title since 2013. His team’s form, however, tells its own story.
“Fans may dream, but we are not. We have to keep our feet on the ground and face that our game has a lot to improve,” the Dutchman said.
Ten Hag was unhappy with the manner in which United allowed City to take control after having the better chances in the first half.
Fernandes’ 78th minute equaliser, meanwhile, was contentious after an initial offside decision was overruled.
Rashford was beyond the last man in the buildup to the goal and even though he did not touch the ball, Pep Guardiola and City’s players believed the forward had interfered in the play.
“The first goal is a joke that it is going to be allowed like this,” said City defender Manuel Akanji.
Guardiola suggested the game being played at Old Trafford was a factor in the goal being allowed.
“The decision is they didn’t believe Rashford was intervening in this stadium. This is Old Trafford, we have to play much better,” he said.
The debate over the goal aside, this was another encouraging performance from United to come from a goal down and end a three-game losing streak against City.
United have already beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham this season and have now won nine games in a row.
They have only lost one of 18 games since that derby loss to City in October.
“We improved, that’s obvious. Still a long way to go, a long path to go, a lot of aspects in our game we have to improve, but we’re progressing, that’s quite obvious,” Ten Hag said. “We often talk about teams developing, tactics progressing. One of the main jobs for a manager, for a coaching staff is to work on the mentality of the team and this mentality has a lot of elements. One of them is resilience, the determination of this team is progressing a lot in those facts, dealing with setbacks, dealing with suffering in painful moments and keep going after setbacks like a goal against us.”
This was the sternest test of United’s resurgence under Ten Hag, even with City coming off a surprise 2-0 loss to Southampton in the English League Cup on Thursday.