Premier League top scorer Mo Salah missed a golden chance to give Liverpool a two-goal cushion as the newly crowned champions fell to a late goal by substitute Jack Hinshelwood, with his first touch, as Brighton earned a dramatic comeback 3-2 win at the American Express Stadium on Monday night.
The result brightens the Seagulls’ chance of playing European football next season heading into the final match-day in the Premier League this weekend, though it didn’t look like happening for an hour against the Reds.
Harvey Elliott put the Reds ahead after nine minutes, finishing off a neat team move that saw Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah combine to send Conor Bradley on his way to set up Elliott for a simple finish from close range.
Brighton were back on level terms just past the half-hour mark thanks to Yasin Ayari’s brilliant finish, boosting the home side to threaten the Reds’ goal for a second goal only to find themselves behind again as Szoboszlai fired a cross-shot beyond Bert Verbruggen’s reach in the 45th minute.
Liverpool then had the golden chance to go 3-1 up through league’s top scorer Salah after he was set up by Cody Gakpo, only for the Egyptian forward to side-foot his shot wide with plenty of the Brighton goal to aim for.
Salah and the Reds would end up regretting that miss, as substitutes Kaoru Mitoma and Hinshelwood scored in the closing 20 minutes of the game to turn the tie around in favour of Brighton and claim all three points which keeps the Seagulls with a chance of qualifying for the Conference League next season.
That’s because Brighton are now eighth with 58 points, three points clear of Brentford, who may lose ninth spot on Tuesday night to Bournemouth, if the Cherries get a win at Manchester City to make the race for a possible Conference League spot a three-horse race.