Kick-off on the south coast was delayed by 15 minutes, and the action took some time to get going, even after the first whistle had sounded, as an early injury to Hugo Ekitike forced the Frenchman off inside 10 minutes, disrupting the game’s flow.
Curtis Jones replaced the striker as Liverpool struggled to replicate the stunning performance they put in against Galatasaray in midweek UEFA Champions League action, and their slow start was punished inside the opening quarter-hour.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu’s cross from the left was headed back across goal by Diego Gomez to Danny Welbeck, who nodded in at the far post for his 11th PL goal of the campaign, making him the outright top English scorer in the division this season.
Liverpool applied pressure in response but appeared to lack a focal point with Ekitike and Mohamed Salah both absent, though ex-Seagull Alexis Mac Allister’s header from a Dominik Szoboszlai cross forced Bart Verbruggen into a tidy save at his near post.
Arne Slot’s men were toeing the line between being patient and ponderous in their attack, yet an equaliser still came their way on the half-hour thanks to a glaring error from the hosts.
Lewis Dunk attempted to steer a Giorgi Mamardashvili long ball back to his own goalkeeper, but hadn’t seen Milos Kerkez, who ghosted in behind the Brighton defence and pounced on the loose ball before applying a glorious dink over Verbruggen to restore parity.
Fabian Hurzeler’s men emerged from the restart with renewed vigour, and after Kadıoğlu and Mats Wieffer missed chances to restore their lead, Welbeck made no such mistake.
Just as with the Seagulls’ first strike, the goal originated from a cross on the left wing, this time by Yankuba Minteh, which was cushioned first-time by Jack Hinshelwood into Welbeck’s path for a tap-in, with the goal surviving a lengthy VAR check for offside.
The contest opened up as a result, with Mamardashvili producing good saves to deny Gomez and Minteh either side of Verbruggen saving Jones’ low strike.
Liverpool’s underwhelming second-half performance showed no sign of abating, and the game could’ve been beyond them when Kaoru Mitoma brilliantly dribbled his way into the Reds’ box and teed up Hinshelwood, but he failed to make clean contact with the goal at his mercy.
Aside from a powerful Cody Gakpo strike, which forced international teammate Verbruggen into a good save, Liverpool never really looked like rescuing a point, and they now risk ending the weekend five points adrift of the top four.
Brighton’s margin of victory would’ve been greater had Jones not blocked Yasin Ayari’s goalbound effort, but the hosts secured a fourth win in their last five outings regardless, climbing into eighth as a result.