Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. Pascal Gross turned Florian Wirtz's shot into his own net on 17 minutes, and Alexander Isak finished Bradley Barcola's cut-back four minutes later. Six fan YouTubers watched it so you don't have to.
Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth. The Liverpool rooms call that run the Bermuda Triangle, and The Kop TV declared it charted: "Bermuda Triangle done." It was Andoni Iraola's first Premier League home win as Liverpool boss and a fourth win in a row in all competitions. Liverpool go fourth, a point behind third-placed Brighton, who arrived with 23 goals in seven games and left with their first defeat since August, per Sky Sports. Storm Boelo blew all afternoon. Liverpool had 35.6% of the ball, their second-lowest share on record (since 2003/04) in a Premier League home win, per Opta. Nobody on the Kop asked for a refund.
Ronald Araujo: Storm Araujo hits Anfield
The goals came from the forwards. The love went to the loanee. TheRedmenTV's Pajak reckons he went five minutes without mentioning him, then made up for it: "The man is an absolute beast." Then, for the avoidance of doubt: "His commitment is second to none."
George Scaife went bigger: "That's one of the best right back performances since Trent left." He also wants it noted that he never joined the doubters: "This guy is a breath of fresh air." The fans agree. Araujo took 85% of the vote in Liverpool's official player of the match poll.
Anfield Agenda's Craig gave him a nine and saved his fire for the broadcast award: "I don't know who on earth was picking man of the match at Sky, lost their mind." The rating is generous. The grievance is permanent.
Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola: four minutes, game over
Barcola blocked Olivier Boscagli's clearance, drove on and pulled it back. Isak did the rest. That's six Premier League goals for the Swede, and only Erling Haaland, on nine, has more, per BBC Sport. George Scaife's tactical breakdown is pleasingly short: "It's just chasing and chasing and win the ball back and we score."
Tom Little admits Isak wasn't all that involved and could not be less bothered: "I don't care how involved he is." He calls Araujo "the best player today" as well, so put that on the pile.
Wirtz, who had a hand in the opener, went off on 65 minutes with an ankle problem. Iraola said "it doesn't look big but we'll see", and Wirtz said "it won't be long."
The Kop TV: massive win, still sloppy
Not every room left purring. The Kop TV's instant reaction puts the verdict in the title. AGT reckons "we were lucky not to be one-nil down" after Yasin Ayari blazed over on 14 minutes, and he has a note for Alisson: "his kicking was awful today". His summary of the clean sheet: "I actually don't know how we kept a clean sheet today."
Sky Sports has Brighton on 64% possession and one shot on target. The scoreboard and the stats sheet were not on speaking terms.
Brighton: Talk Seagulls and the one that got away
Talk Seagulls call it "a disappointing result" and "a frustrating game". Their sliding-doors moment is Ayari's miss: if that goes in, "it's a completely different game." Fabian Hürzeler told Sky Sports much the same. The panel splits on Gross. One says "It's a shame for Gross to have an own goal against his name". The other says "he can take partial responsibility for that goal", arguing that it was Gross's clearance that started it. Even they rate Araujo: "He was going through everything that was living and breathing." Generous, given Brighton were most of what he went through.
The argument: statement win or lucky escape?
Tom Little has seen enough: "we're gonna have a hell of a ride under this manager". AGT wants it both ways: "It is a massive win, it is a statement win but it's still sloppy from Liverpool." Hürzeler, for his part, told Sky that "only one team was playing and trying to win". Liverpool won anyway.
The Bermuda Triangle is charted. The clean sheet is in the bank. Alisson's distribution is under review, and Storm Araujo shows no sign of blowing itself out.