PLAYER RATINGS: Joel Matip was dreadful during his nightmare afternoon against Brighton

Brighton upset the odds with a scintillating 3-0 win against visiting Liverpool thanks to a brace from Solly March and a goal from Danny Welbeck.

March struck just after the half-time break before adding a second soon after. Welbeck then added the third with a brilliant goal to seal the game, again exposing Liverpool’s poor defence.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has apologized to traveling fans following the humiliating result at the Amex.

After an entertaining Premier League clash, sports mail Dan Bennett rates the players on both teams.

Brighton (4-2-3-1)

Roberto Sanchez – He had little to do but managed well every time he was tested, including denying Salah when he found space down the right side in the first half and diving at Gakpo’s feet to keep him out late in the game. 7.

Pascal Gross – It is not his favorite position, but he made a very good change on the right side. He kept Oxlade-Chamberlain and Robertson completely silent and was also a threat moving down the right. 7.

lewis matt – Brighton’s trusty centre-back barely messed up throughout the game, and made a couple of important blocks when Liverpool had periods of pressure and made sure Cody Gakpo didn’t feature in the game at all. 8.

levi colwill – His ability with the ball at his feet and playing from behind is a huge asset for this Brighton side and he did it expertly. Invited to pressure Liverpool late in the second half with a couple of bad decisions, but overall he made a solid change alongside Dunk. 7.

Pervis Estupinán – Helped Mitoma thrive by supporting him on the left side and giving him the option to overlay. He could have done better at keeping the ball on occasion, but he barely gave Salah any joy on that side. 7.

moises caicedo – Another impressive performance from the highly sought after midfielder, who was crucial in starting many Brighton attacks. No wonder the big clubs are making the rounds. 8.

Alexis McAllister – Put on a good display in a deeper midfielder role, pulling the strings and showing off his excellent passing ability with several passes to attacking players. He took advantage of a mistake by Matip to start the play that led to the opening goal. 8.

solly march – Fantastic two-goal performance from the winger. He did brilliantly to position himself against Mitoma from the first before a fantastic finish shortly after putting his team 2-0 up. He also helped late in the third for Welbeck with a nice quick move. 9.

Adam Lallana – Effective play in the role of the number 10. He played some good passes to those in front of him and his movement caused some confusion in the Liverpool back line. 7.

kaoru mythoma – Excellent on the left flank and caused all kinds of problems for Liverpool, especially in the first half. He started the second as he finished the first 45 minutes by going on goal and setting up March for his team’s first goal. An absolutely great display. 9.

Evan Ferguson – He did not have much joy in the first half but he took over in the second, preparing March for the second and leading the line well, going deeper to pick up the ball before it went. 7.

substitutes

Danny Welbeck (for Ferguson 66′ 7)

Joel Veltman (for Lallana 66′ 6)

Jeremy Sarmiento (for Mac Allister 83′)

Tariq Lamptey (for Mitoma 90′)

Adam Webster (for Dunk 90′)

Manager

Robert De Zerbi – A brilliant team selection from the Brighton boss, who set out to exploit Liverpool’s pace wide. Deploying Mac Allister a bit deeper worked well and Brighton probably deserved to score even more than them. 8.

Liverpool (4-3-3)

Alisson – He was not helped by those ahead of him, who gave him very little protection throughout the afternoon. He really wasn’t to blame for any of the goals, but he was guilty of putting his team under pressure at times by giving away the ball. 6.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – Had a torrid time against Mitoma and often left teammate Matip exposed one on one with the winger. He may have been following his coach’s instructions, but he should have helped more defensively. He also contributed very little in attack, a large part of why he is in the team. 5.

Joel Matip – Terrible display of the central defender. He had a nightmare on the right side of the defense against Mitoma in the first half and was at fault for March’s goal, giving the ball away badly to Mac Allister inside his own half. 4.

Ibrahima Konate – Better than his central defensive partner, but did very little to slow down wave after wave of attack from Brighton. Hardly a commanding performance from the France international. 6.

andres robertson – He let March get the best of him early in the game and was caught out of position on several occasions. He failed to properly fulfill his defensive duties and, like the opposite full-back of him, he also did very little to threaten the opposition by going the other way. 5.

jordan henderson – He struggled to take on the excellent duo of Caicedo and Mac Allister in midfield. Some good passes here and there, but they seemed slow and labored against Brighton’s dynamic midfield. 6.

Fabinho – Like Henderson, he was guilty of being too slow to stop Brighton’s quick attacks, which often came from midfield. 5.

Thiago – He turned heads from time to time with some decent passes but had very little impact on the overall game, especially in the final third where he didn’t help create attacks like Brighton’s midfielders did. 6.

Mohamed Salah – Waste with a couple of shots on goal in the first half and almost anonymous in the second. He looked dangerous on a couple of occasions when he got through on goal, but he didn’t do enough for his team. 5.

Cody Gakpo – Barely involved in the game at all. He had a good chance when the ball fell to him a couple of yards later, but other than that, you wouldn’t have known he was playing. 5.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Like Gakpo, barely involved. He lacks the pace of Brighton’s full-backs and barely caused Groß a problem before he was replaced. 5.

substitutes

Naby Keita (by Fabinho 68′ 6)

Harvey Elliott (for Henderson 69′ 6)

Ben Doak (for Oxlade-Chamberlain 69′ 6)

Joe Gomez (by Matip 69′ 6)

Manager

jurgen klopp – His tactical setup did very little to help his team, who were mercilessly exposed time and time again in part due to how high the full-backs played. He didn’t turn things around at halftime when he maybe he should have. 4.