Nearly producing a carbon copy of their eye-catching 4-1 win away at Everton, Brighton struck an extra goal in an emphatic success at Boro’s Riverside Stadium on Saturday, as returning World Cup hero Alexis Mac Allister swapped international glory for an FA Cup brace off the bench.
Ex-Liverpool man Adam Lallana, Deniz Undav and Pascal Gross were also on target for the goal-happy Seagulls, who quickly recovered from Chuba Akpom‘s leveller in the opening exchanges to set up a fourth-round battle with, coincidentally, Liverpool or Wolves.
Prior to their successful trip to Middlesbrough, Roberto De Zerbi’s men silenced Goodison Park and then some with a scintillating Premier League win last Tuesday, remaining within touching distance of the continental spots as a result as they sit eighth in the rankings.
Tottenham Hotspur – who have played a game more – still hold an unassailable six-point lead over Brighton in fifth place, but victory for the Seagulls on their own turf would be enough to break into the top seven over Liverpool, as the positives continue to outweigh the negatives in life after Graham Potter.
For all of their goalscoring capabilities, each of Brighton’s last seven Premier League games have seen both teams score, and their only top-flight win at the Amex since October was that 4-1 demolition of Chelsea, but Liverpool are not exactly the force that they once were.
As calls to sign a new midfielder grow louder and louder from the Anfield faithful – who may take the opportunity to get a closer look at Brighton’s Moises Caicedothis weekend – Klopp’s men have been thanking their lucky stars, or lack of camera angles, for their FA Cup defence remaining alive.
Prior to the full-time whistle in their four-goal draw with Wolves, Toti had scored a seemingly good winner for the visitors before it was ruled out, with Matheus Nunes adjudged to have committed the offside offence when receiving the ball back at his feet from a corner.
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With no concrete evidence available to overturn the on-field decision, Klopp and a furious Julen Lopetegui shook hands on a draw, but there was arguably not a more grateful man in the ground than Alisson Becker, who failed to cover himself in glory for either of Wolves’ strikes.
Returning to top-flight duty, seventh-placed Liverpool cannot usurp Tottenham no matter what transpires this weekend, and they were knocked down a place by Fulham on Thursday night after the Cottagers got the better of Chelsea.
Following a similar pattern to that of their hosts, Liverpool have also scored and conceded in each of their last six games in all tournaments, but they have accumulated just two top-flight wins away from home all season – only the 12th-best record of its kind.
