Hurzeler accuses Brighton of outplaying Liverpool after Anfield defeat as Araujo loan love affair deepens

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler refused to concede Liverpool deserved their victory at Anfield, arguing his side created the better chances in a defeat that leaves the Seagulls third in the Premier League table.

Liverpool secured the win through Alexander Isak’s sixth league goal of the season and a Pascal Gross own goal, giving head coach Andoni Iraola his first top-flight victory at Anfield. The result moved Liverpool into the top four and within touching distance of leaders Manchester City, with Arsenal level on points in second after a 2-0 win over Everton on the same afternoon.

“I think everyone in the stadium saw that there was one team who really tried to create and try to win this game,” Hurzeler said in his post-match press conference. “We had one, two big chances before they scored. Today it was just the difference that they scored, we didn’t score. We couldn’t keep the clean sheet because we made easy mistakes, we lost some important personal duels.”

The Brighton boss was also pointed in his praise for Liverpool’s defensive display, crediting centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Milos Kerkez for blocking shots and defending the box well — a backhanded acknowledgement that his side were denied rather than outplayed.

Araujo himself emerged as one of the afternoon’s talking points. The Barcelona loanee threw himself in front of a point-blank effort to deny Brighton and later took a kick to the face from Malick Yalcouye while stopping a late counterattack. The Uruguayan’s willingness to put his body on the line drew a rapturous response from the Anfield crowd.

Liverpool hold an option to purchase Araujo permanently for around £47 million at the end of the season, though the club has yet to indicate whether it intends to exercise that clause. His performances so far have already prompted supporters to overlook the well-worn football maxim of never growing attached to a loan signing.

Elsewhere, summer signing Florian Wirtz was withdrawn during the match, though the club indicated it appeared to be a precautionary measure rather than a serious concern.