Two goals in four minutes, then Liverpool defended their box: Brighton had 64% of the ball, 17 shots and one on target.
The numbers
| Liverpool | Brighton & Hove Albion | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 36% | 64% |
| Shots | 13 | 17 |
| On target | 4 | 1 |
| xG | 1.2 | 1.32 |
| Touches in opp. box | 30 | 39 |
Result the chances deserved: Liverpool 34% / 27% / Brighton & Hove Albion 39% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Araújo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Barcola, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen, Kadıoğlu, Vušković, Dunk, Boscagli, Groß, Chema Andrés, Diego Gómez, Ayari, De Cuyper, Kostoulas.
Brighton subs: Costinha (6', Kadıoğlu), Hinshelwood (46', Boscagli), Yalcouyé (54', Chema Andrés), Rutter (75', Ayari) (FotMob). Brighton coach: Fabian Hürzeler.
Booked: Boscagli (45+3'), Costinha (73'). Attendance 60,404. Line-ups from Liverpool FC and FotMob; goal minutes from FotMob and AFP.
Key moments, move by move
- Araújo, at right-back, runs forward down the right and crosses into the box.
- Brighton don't clear it properly and the loose ball drops to Wirtz.
- Wirtz hits it low and hard. It takes a big deflection off Groß and goes into the bottom corner past Verbruggen: Brighton's first goal conceded in over nine hours.
- Alisson goes long from the back towards the right.
- Boscagli tries to deal with it, but Barcola gets there first and wins the duel.
- Barcola runs into the box on the right and plays it across the six-yard area.
- Isak finishes first time from close range: six league goals in seven games.
A strong start, then two banks of four in front of the box
- The start. Iraola asked for "a strong start, be aggressive, recover balls, win our duels, be dangerous in transitions" (Flashscore). Brighton still had the first big chance: at 14' Diego Gómez's pass got past Van Dijk, Groß cut it back and Ayari blazed over (Liverpool FC).
- Four minutes. Both goals came from Liverpool winning the ball on the right and going straight for the box. Araújo ran forward and crossed for Wirtz's deflected shot at 17'; at 21' Barcola beat Boscagli to a long ball and set up Isak. Iraola: "Bradley (Barcola) winning the duel, going one-on-one."
- Without the ball. Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 dropped into a 4-4-1-1, with Barcola working back to help Araújo and Gravenberch staying in front of the centre-backs (SI). Brighton had 64% of the ball and 39 touches in Liverpool's box (FotMob), but Ayari's shot against the post at 36', after an error by Alisson (Opta Analyst), was the closest they came before half-time.
- The second half. Hürzeler sent on Hinshelwood at half-time and Yalcouyé at 54', and Brighton pushed more players forward. Liverpool had space to counter but lacked a clean final ball (Liverpool FC). Wirtz went off with an ankle twist at 65'. Brighton finished with 17 shots and one on target (Flashscore).
Tactical scenes
Brighton kept the ball and kept arriving in Liverpool's box, but Liverpool's back four and both holding midfielders stayed close to their goal. Ayari blazed over at 14' and hit the post at 36', Jacquet and Araújo made last-ditch blocks, and after half-time, with Brighton pushing more men forward, Nyoni stopped De Cuyper's run from deep. Hürzeler: "They blocked a lot of shots. They really defended the box well."
Evidence: Brighton had 17 shots, 39 touches in Liverpool's box and 1.32 xG (FotMob), but only one shot on target (Flashscore). FotMob match page · Flashscore: Iraola and Hürzeler after the game · Liverpool FC match report
Recreate it in FM26
Liverpool · Iraola's mid block and quick break against Brighton · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Iraola's mid block and quick break against Brighton
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alisson | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Araújo | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Jacquet | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Van Dijk | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Kerkez | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Gravenberch | Defensive Midfielder | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Mac Allister | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Barcola | Wide Forward | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Wirtz | Advanced Playmaker | Central Outlet Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gakpo | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Isak | Poacher | Splitting Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Progress ThroughRight
- Crossing StyleLow Crosses
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive LineDeeper
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
- TacklingAggressive
The idea: Let a possession side have the ball, keep two banks of four in front of the box and break down one flank the moment you win it. You need a Tracking Winger fast enough to win the first duel and a striker who waits in the box.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce Brighton's finishing: they had one shot on target from 17.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Endo on at 65' (for Wirtz), Chiesa on at 65' (for Gakpo). Keep the shape that won the game and use the bench earlier: Endo to protect the box, Chiesa to finish the counters. It doesn't change the result, but it takes some shots away from Brighton and gives Liverpool a better chance of a third. It moves Liverpool's win chance from 34% to 37% (xG 1.20–1.32 becomes 1.20–1.17). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Liverpool needed
Wataru Endo
Liverpool spent the second half defending their box against a side that kept pushing players forward. Endo sits in front of the centre-backs and adds one more body between Brighton's runners and the box. He would also have let Mac Allister press higher.
Yasin Ayari
Liverpool had 36% of the ball and rarely kept it once ahead. Ayari takes the ball under pressure and carries it through the first line: the profile Liverpool lacked when they needed to slow the game down.
What the analysts said
“We needed a strong start, be aggressive, recover balls, win our duels, be dangerous in transitions.”Andoni Iraola (Flashscore)
“I think it's a matter of, in this case, Bradley (Barcola) winning the duel, going one-on-one…”Andoni Iraola (Flashscore)
“Unfortunately, he had to leave the pitch with a small twist of the ankle.”Andoni Iraola on Wirtz (Liverpool FC)
“I think everyone in the stadium saw that there was one team who really tried to create and try to win this game.”Fabian Hürzeler (Flashscore)
“They kept a clean sheet because they defended well.”Fabian Hürzeler (Flashscore)
“The first half is really what we want to be about - intensity, winning balls and countering.”Alexander Isak to Sky Sports (LiveScore)
Liverpool gave Brighton the ball and won it in four minutes.
What's happening. Liverpool beat Brighton 2–0 for their first home league win of the season and moved up to fourth. Brighton came to Anfield as the league's top scorers and had not conceded in four league games. Liverpool scored twice in four minutes in the first half, then let Brighton have the ball: 64% of it, and nothing to show for it.
How it works. Against a side that builds patiently from the back, you can let them have the ball and wait for the moment they lose it. The full-backs push on, so the space is behind them. Liverpool sat in two banks of four and attacked that space quickly, with Barcola and Araújo winning duels on the right. The cost is control: once ahead, Liverpool rarely kept the ball and Brighton kept shooting.
What the shots say. FotMob gives Brighton slightly more xG than Liverpool, from more shots. One reading: an even game decided by two good moments and Brighton's poor finishing, with one shot on target. The other: Liverpool led after 21 minutes and chose to defend, so most of Brighton's shots came against a set block, often through bodies. Hürzeler said Liverpool "blocked a lot of shots". Both can be true.