Fabian Hurzeler Says Only One Team Tried to Win After Anfield Defeat

• Fabian Hurzeler said everyone in the stadium saw one team “who really tried to create and tried to win” after Brighton lost 2-0 at Anfield.
• Liverpool won with 35.6 per cent possession, their lowest in a league win at Anfield in 16 years, and had four shots on target to Brighton’s one.
• Liverpool’s Andoni Iraola praised on-loan Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo for his duels, while Brighton’s eight-match unbeaten run ended.

A Claim That Drew Raised Eyebrows at Anfield

Fabian Hurzeler used his post-match press conference at Anfield to say that Brighton were the team that tried to win. “I think everyone in the stadium saw there was one team who really tried to create and tried to win this game,” the Brighton head coach said. “I have to praise my players.”

Liverpool had just beaten his side 2-0 with 35.6 per cent of the ball. That was the second-lowest possession figure on record for a Premier League home win, and the lowest for a league victory at Anfield in 16 years. The previous lowest was 35.3 per cent in a 2-0 win over Chelsea in November 2010. Liverpool also put four shots on target to Brighton’s one.

What Hurzeler Said About the Defeat

Hurzeler did not back away from his view of the game. “The difference was that they scored and we didn’t,” he said, adding that Liverpool “blocked a lot of shots and defended the box well”. He also admitted his team made easy mistakes and lost important personal duels, but said he saw “a team with a lot of good things”.

The frustration was plain in his closing remark: “we all have the feeling that there is a missed opportunity here today”. Brighton had arrived third in the table on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Their last defeat was a 4-3 loss at Chelsea on August 30. The result also made it five successive losses at Anfield, where Brighton have won once in the Premier League after being promoted in 2017.

The Guardian’s match report said Hurzeler exaggerated the threat his side posed, and that his words drew a mass raising of eyebrows in the room. Yasin Ayari missed a glorious chance to open the scoring and struck a post, but goalkeeper Alisson was troubled more by his own distribution after Liverpool’s second goal than by anything Brighton created.

How the Goals Arrived

Liverpool scored twice in four minutes. Florian Wirtz held off Lewis Dunk in the build-up to the opener, and his first-time shot took a deflection off Pascal Gross on the way past Bart Verbruggen, so the goal went down as a Gross own goal. Alexander Isak then scored his sixth Premier League goal in as many appearances, steering Bradley Barcola’s delivery inside the far corner with a side-foot finish.

Brighton left-back Olivier Boscagli was at fault for the second goal, hitting a clearance straight at Barcola, and he was withdrawn at half-time. The win moved Liverpool up to fourth, a point behind Brighton in third.

Iraola Singles Out Araújo

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola was pleased with the way his team started. “It is a very valuable win,” he said. “The key was how we started.” He pointed to a different game from recent ones, when Liverpool had conceded first, and said the team needed to be aggressive, recover balls and win their duels.

The player who embodied that was Ronald Araújo, the on-loan Barcelona defender who produced a string of heavy challenges and quickly endeared himself to the Kop. “I think we all enjoyed watching Ronald fighting,” Iraola said. “He’s very good in the duels.” Iraola had left Araújo out of the last two games to add more attacking threat, and said the defender kept working with no issues. Against Brighton, Iraola said, he needed him more, and Araújo gave him a very good 90 minutes.

It was Iraola’s first Premier League home win as Liverpool head coach, and it came with Wirtz, Isak and Barcola all looking more at home in his system. Storm Boelo raged outside the stadium, but the game went ahead in relatively calm conditions inside.

What Comes Next for Brighton

Hurzeler will be hoping for a response in midweek, when Brighton visit Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The two sides meet again in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium three days later. Hurzeler has two chances in one week to back up his view of the Anfield game.