Talking pointsSalah milestones, mercurial Matip, lunchtime record and more

Luis Diaz’s 19th-minute goal set the Reds on their way to three important points from the lunchtime kick-off and Mohamed Salah’s penalty on the hour sealed them.

Here are five talking points from the action at the Amex Stadium…

Brave Diaz

An intelligently timed run in behind from Diaz matched a visionary assist from Joel Matip as Liverpool got in front during the first half.

The Colombia international had to be brave too to score, though, as he stooped his head to nod the bouncing ball into the net as Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez came rushing out to the edge of the box.

Diaz’s willingness ensured he achieved the vital touch – and a second strike for the club since arriving in January – but the No.23 was immediately clattered in the process.

There was no punishment for Sanchez’s challenge; however, Diaz was soon back up and able to celebrate the high point of another impressive personal display.

“Again, top-class. Like we’ve said for weeks now, he has come in and done fantastically well,” said Jordan Henderson post-match. “With the ball, the quality he possesses; without the ball, the work-rate as well and winning the ball back. So another big performance from him.”

More Mo records

When Salah coolly stroked his second-half penalty down the middle of the goal, a series of milestones and records were simultaneously accomplished.

The spot-kick took the Egyptian’s Premier League tally to 20 this term – the fourth time in five seasons with the Reds he has reached that figure. In the other campaign, he got 19.

Now, no Liverpool player in history has scored more goals against Brighton than Salah, who moved level on six with Kenny Dalglish.

The No.11 also became the first non-Englishman to bag 50 away goals for the club in the Premier League era and the third overall, after Michael Owen (55) and Steven Gerrard (51).

Just for good measure, Salah can lay claim to the Reds’ 2,000th goal in Premier League football as they became just the second side to achieve that haul.

WWWWWWWW

Liverpool’s winning streak in all competitions was halted by Internazionale in the Champions League in midweek, but here they further extended their run of Premier League victories to eight.

A maximum haul of 24 points that began with the Anfield victory over Brentford on January 16 sees the Reds sit three shy of leaders Manchester City with 10 games left to play for both teams.

It’s the longest successful run in the division for Jürgen Klopp’s men since February 2020 and one built upon defensive solidity, with six clean sheets underpinning the eight wins.

Mercurial Matip

Matip’s announcement as the Premier League’s Player of the Month for February owed as much to his attacking output as the three clean sheets he helped the Reds secure during the period.

The defender had provided an assist for Diogo Jota against Leicester City with a neat nudge into the box and then deftly swept a finish past Leeds United to conclude one of his forays forward.

And Matip conjured another goal contribution to produce an opener at the Amex Stadium.

Moving up the field with the ball from his central defensive position, the No.32 weighted an excellent pass over the Brighton defence to find the forward, angled sprint of Diaz, who went on to net.

“I don’t like to say it usually, but he definitely is [underrated]. Believe me, if there is one person on this planet who couldn’t care less if we all underrate him, it is Joel Matip,” Klopp had said pre-match.

Matip’s feet are very much doing the talking for him right now.

Happy lunchtime

The trip to the Amex Stadium was the Reds’ third 12.30pm kick-off in the league this season and yielded a third victory, following up a 2-0 home defeat of Burnley in August and the 5-0 rout at Watford in October.

Indeed, they have lost only five of the 28 fixtures played at that time under Klopp, with this their ninth victory of the 18 contested away from home.

With the job done and three points added, they can now watch on as the rest of the division compete during a round of matches scheduled across Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Particular attention will be on Manchester City’s assignment, of course; Pep Guardiola’s team travel to Crystal Palace at 8pm on Monday.