Liverpool dropped points for a third straight game in the Premier League top-four race after a 2-1 defeat away to Brighton & Hove Albion, with the Reds now winless in five of their last six visits to the Amex Stadium.

Kick-off on the south coast was delayed by 15 minutes, and the match took time to settle even after it began, with an early injury to Hugo Ekitike forcing him off inside 10 minutes and disrupting Liverpool’s rhythm.

Liverpool brought on Curtis Jones as they struggled to match the intensity of their midweek UEFA Champions League performance against Galatasaray, and their slow start was punished inside the opening quarter of an hour.

Ferdi Kadıoğlu delivered a cross from the left that was headed back across goal by Diego Gómez, allowing Danny Welbeck to nod in at the far post for his 11th Premier League goal of the season, making him the leading English scorer in the division.

Liverpool responded with pressure but lacked a natural focal point in the absence of Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah, although former Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister went close with a header from a Dominik Szoboszlai cross, only to be denied by a smart save from Bart Verbruggen at his near post.

Liverpool were caught between patience and slowness in their build-up play, but they found an equaliser on the half-hour mark after a costly mistake from the hosts.

Lewis Dunk attempted to guide a long ball from Giorgi Mamardashvili back to his goalkeeper, but failed to spot Milos Kerkez, who stole in behind the defence and calmly lifted the ball over Verbruggen to level the score.

Brighton & Hove Albion, led by Fabian Hürzeler, came out after the restart with renewed intensity, and although Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Mats Wieffer both missed chances to regain the lead, Danny Welbeck made no mistake when his opportunity arrived.

As with Brighton’s opening goal, the move began from a left-sided cross—this time from Yankuba Minteh—which was cleverly cushioned first-time by Jack Hinshelwood into Welbeck’s path for a simple finish, with the goal eventually confirmed after a lengthy VAR offside check.

The game opened up after that, with Giorgi Mamardashvili making important saves to deny Diego Gómez and Minteh, while at the other end Bart Verbruggen kept out a low effort from Curtis Jones.

Liverpool continued to struggle after the break, and they might have fallen further behind when Kaoru Mitoma produced a brilliant run into the box before setting up Hinshelwood, who failed to make proper contact with the goal at his mercy.

Aside from a powerful strike from Cody Gakpo that forced a strong save from Verbruggen, Liverpool rarely looked like salvaging a point and could end the weekend five points off the top four.

Brighton & Hove Albion might have won by a wider margin had Curtis Jones not blocked a goalbound effort from Yasin Ayari, but the hosts still secured a fourth win in five matches and climbed into eighth place