Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez continue to forge a fruitful relationship up top for Liverpool, which was on show once more in Sunday’s draw at Brighton.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side proved a frustrating watch on the south coast, with their gifted goals to Brighton coupled with incisive play in attack that ought to have resulted in more than two goals.
But the 2-2 draw, in the words of the manager, was “unfortunately” the “right result in the end,” leaving Liverpool to carry a draw into the international break.
The match certainly had its moments and that included the continuation of the strong link up play between the Reds’ No. 9 and No. 11. With the help of FotMob, let’s take a look.
Nunez has eyes only for Salah
Into their second season as team-mates, Nunez and Salah continue to show exciting signs when lining up together in attack – chaos mixed with magic.
The Uruguayan’s quick thinking to move the ball on the edge of the area and into the path of Salah saw him notch his third assist of the season for Liverpool’s first goal at Brighton.
Incredibly, it was Nunez’s seventh assist of his Liverpool career and the seventh that set up a goal for Salah. He’s exclusively setting up goals for one man!
As per Opta’s Michael Reid, it is the longest run of assists to only one player by a Red in the Premier League era.
Moreover, with five of those assists coming in the Premier League, Nunez now holds the record for the most assists exclusively for one team-mate in the history of the competition.
A foreboding link up that will continue to prove a headache for the opposition!
Trent gets down to business
In his first Premier League start since sustaining his hamstring injury at the beginning of September, it was not going to be easy to line up opposite Kaoru Mitoma – who gave him a torrid time last season.
However, the 25-year-old stood up to the task and then some. That his influence was all the more apparent after being substituted in the 80th minute spoke volumes:
- Tackles won: 3 (100%) – Joint-second most of any Red
- Recoveries: 8 – Second-most of any outfielder
- Ground duels: 3/5 (60%) – Joint-third most of any player
- Passes into final third: 8 – Joint-most of any player
He kept Mitoma quiet while remaining influential on the ball. His defensive work is continually under scrutiny, but at Brighton he showed what he is capable of.
Something to take away
Moments make games. The decision to gift a silly free-kick, fail to clear a delivery into the box or give the ball away in a dangerous area, they all add up.
Liverpool know that having done all of those things to see Brighton twice get on the scoresheet. It was an opportunity missed and the lack of sustained intensity made life harder.
There were errors aplenty from the Reds, but compared to their disastrous outings against the Seagulls last season, they at least had the chances to win this match.
With more possession (54 percent compared to 46 percent) and a greater xG (2.35xG compared to 2.32xG), Liverpool are the only team this season to win both counts against Brighton.
Now that did not get us any more than one point, but with this still the first chapter of Liverpool 2.0, they are foundations to continue to build on when they return from the October break.
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