Minutes 69 to 72 at Anfield today may yet prove to be crucial for Liverpool in their Premier League campaign.
With Arsenal beaten at Newcastle in the lunchtime kick-off and Manchester City losing 2-0 at Bournemouth midway through the second half, the Reds were squandering a big opportunity to steal a march on their title rivals when they were trailing at home to Brighton.
However, in the space of just four minutes, Arne Slot’s side took their season by the scruff of the neck with two massive moments.
Liverpool complete three-minute turnaround
Firstly, Cody Gakpo – who scored twice against the Seagulls in the Carabao Cup in midweek – cut inside from the left flank and sent in what was probably intended to be a cross for Darwin Nunez, but the ball sailed all the way into the Albion net to equalise for Liverpool.
— ballkingvbjk (@ballkingvbj) https://twitter.com/ballkingvbj/status/1852749501334966289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Just 125 seconds later, Anfield was rocking as Mo Salah scored his ninth goal of the season with a simply show-stopping strike.
Curtis Jones picked out the Egyptian on the right and he took a couple of touches to set himself before turning inside Pervis Estupinan and curling a rocket of a shot past Bart Verbruggen into the top corner of the Brighton net.
— ballkingvbjk (@ballkingvbj) https://twitter.com/ballkingvbj/status/1852750016437252236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
(Videos taken from Viaplay’s match coverage and shared via @ballkingvbj on X)
Could be a huge day in Liverpool’s season
This represents the perfect weekend for Liverpool after the travails of Arsenal and Man City.
These are the rare opportunities that Slot’s team simply have to seize whenever they present themselves, and for much of the afternoon it seemed as if they’d let it slip through their fingers.
The quickfire double justified the head coach’s decision to keep Gakpo in the starting XI after his midweek double, and it should also nudge the Anfield hierarchy towards offering Salah every feasible incentive to keep him at the club beyond the end of this season.
The afternoon of Saturday 2 November might just, just be highlighted as a seminal moment in Liverpool’s campaign, if we get the dream scenario that we’re all craving next May.
