Brighton v Liverpool ratings: Alzate 3, Sanchez 4; Mane 8, Diaz 8

Reds narrow the gap on leaders Manchester City with comfortable win at Brighton

BRIGHTON RATINGS: Robert Sanchez - 4 The Spaniard was lucky to escape a red card when he levelled Diaz as the Portuguese opened the scoring. If he had been quicker off the line, he might have reached the ball before the man. AP

Tariq Lamptey - 4 The 21-year-old was neutralised going forward by Robertson. He also let Diaz run free before the opening goal. Reuters

Joel Veltman - 5 The Dutchman was bemused by Liverpool’s pace and movement and was often caught in the wrong position. There was too much space between him and Lamptey. Reuters

Lewis Dunk - 5 The 30-year-old appeared to be a yard short of the pace that was required to control the Liverpool attack. He was solid in the air. PA

Marc Cucurella - 5 The Spaniard was efficient against a sub-par Salah but was poor in possession. He was unable to generate any threat going forward. Reuters

Steven Alzate - 3 The Colombian struggled to make an impact. The game bypassed him and he made way for Lallana at half time. Getty

Yves Bissouma - 5 The 25-year-old was combative in the midfield and made the opposition work in the first half. He was less effective after the break and gave away a needless penalty. Welbeck replaced him in the 66th minute. Getty

Alexis Mac Allister - 4 The Argentinian showed some nice touches but almost all were in areas that did not hurt Liverpool. In the final third his passes went astray. Getty

Leandro Trossard - 5 The Belgian hurtled around the pitch but did not get on the ball enough. He blasted a good chance over the bar just after half time. Getty

Solly March - 5 The winger started to trouble Liverpool late in the game but could not produce a telling pass. The result was no longer in question by the time he started playing. Reuters

Neal Maupay - 4 The Frenchman left his foot in on Alisson late on and was given a yellow card. It was emblematic of his game. He was repeatedly a split-second too late to the ball. Action Images

SUBS: Adam Lallana - 3 The former Liverpool player came on for Alzate at half time and lasted just eight minutes before limping off injured. Gross replaced him. PA

Pascal Gross - 4 The German entered the game in the 53rd minute. He might have remained on the bench for all the impact he had on proceedings. Getty

Danny Welbeck - 6 The 31-year-old replaced Bissouma with 24 minutes to go. He was lively and tested Alisson with a header. Action Images

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 7 The Brazilian had little to do but made a superb save late on from Welbeck. He showed his intelligence when he collected the ball with his body outside the area but with his hands inside the box. Action Images

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7 The 23-year-old was largely in control of his flank. His distribution was not as creative as usual but he used the ball well. March gave him some trouble late on. Getty

Joel Matip - 8 The 30-year-old was at the top of his game, snuffing out danger with a series of tackles and interceptions. His pass to Diaz for the opening goal was sublime. Getty

Virgil van Dijk - 7 The Dutchman dominated in the air and was assured on the ground. He read the game superbly and saw danger before it unfolded. AP

Andrew Robertson - 7 The Scot is developing a fine understanding with Diaz. He was incisive going forward and assured when defending. Getty

Fabinho - 6 A low-key effort from the Brazilian. He was not as quick to the ball as usual and drifted out of the game for periods. AP

Jordan Henderson - 7 The captain was busy and eager and combined well with Salah. Milner replaced him with four minutes to go. Action Images

Naby Keita – 7 The Guinean pressed hard and was neat on the ball. He was effective but made way for Thiago in the 65th minute. Getty

Mohamed Salah - 7 The Egyptian hit the bar with a deflected effort and scored from the penalty spot to take his goal tally to 20 in the league. Even so, he was not at his best and he limped off to be replaced by Jota in the 65th minute. Getty

Sadio Mane - 8 The Senegalese was on fine form, even though he rarely threatened to score. His movement ensured the defence could never relax. PA

Luis Diaz - 8 The Colombian was a handful. His brave goal was the highlight of a performance full of guile and threat. PA

SUBS: Thiago Alcantara - 6 The 30-year-old joined the action in the 65th minute for Keita. He produced one sublime pass but found it hard to get to the pace of the game. Reuters

Diogo Jota - 6 The Portuguese replaced Salah with 25 minutes to go. His first touch let him down and he had little influence on the match. Getty

James Milner - 6 The 36-year-old came on for Henderson with four minutes to go. As usual, he put himself about during this short cameo. AP

Liverpool moved within touching distance of Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League after a 2-0 win at Brighton.

The Seagulls had fought back from two goals behind to force a draw at Anfield in October but there were no slips from Jurgen Klopp’s side this time around as they left the south coast with all three points.

A Luis Diaz header gave Liverpool the lead in the first half – but the forward received a heavy blow in the process as Robert Sanchez rushed off his line. However, VAR review ruled there was no red card for the goalkeeper.

Mohamed Salah’s second half penalty doubled Liverpool’s advantage and they saw out the remainder of the game with relative ease to move to within three points of Manchester City, with a game in hand.

You can see the player ratings from the match in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.