Salah penalty sends Liverpool seven points clear again

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed his side's maturity as Premier League contenders after breaking down an obdurate Brighton thanks to Mohamed Salah's 50th-minute penalty in a 1-0 win on Saturday.

Klopp's men had lost their last two games in very contrasting fashion as Manchester City inflicted Liverpool's only Premier League defeat of the campaign nine days ago before a much-changed side lost in the FA Cup to Wolves.

Liverpool were far from their fluent best on England's south coast but ground out a vital win to move seven points clear of City at the top of the table thanks to a 13th clean sheet in 22 league games this season.

"The headline before the game was 'be ready', the headline after the game is 'very mature'," said Klopp.

"It's so important. On the good days, everybody can win; on average days not a lot of teams can win football games and, on a bad day, only a few can win.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (L) and Georginio Wijnaldum celebrate after the final whistle during the Premier League match in Brighton, UK, January 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

"Today was not a bad day but it was a difficult day because Brighton is doing really well."

Salah was just one of a number of first-team regulars to return from Monday's defeat by Wolves, but the Egyptian and the rest of Liverpool's forward line were starved of service before the break as Brighton sat deep and the visitors dominated possession without any cutting edge.

"It was very hard but that is how it is," added Klopp. "I liked the performance. It wasn't an opera of football but it was a really nice song."

(Top image: Brighton and Hove Albion's Jurgen Locadia (C) vies for possession with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (R) during their Premier League match which ended with Liverpool claiming a 1-0 victory in Brighton, UK, January 12, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP