Salah stunner seals comeback win for Liverpool
A second-half comeback from Liverpool saw it return to the Premier League summit with a 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield.
Ferdi Kadioglu's eye-catching 14th-minute strike handed the visitors the lead, but the Seagulls were unable to make their chances count in a dominant first half.
Cody Gakpo, scorer of two goals against Brighton in the Carabao Cup in midweek, fortuitously restored parity in the 69th minute when his cross narrowly evaded Darwin Nunez and nestled into the corner.
The turnaround was complete three minutes later when Mohamed Salah curled a trademark left-footed finish beyond Bart Verbruggen.
With Arsenal and Manchester City losing, Liverpool is top of the pile on 25 points, two clear of its nearest challenger after the opening 10 games, while Brighton is seventh.
Salah's stunning goal was his 48th match-winning strike in the Premier League, with only five players netting more in the competition’s history.
He also continued his fine record against the Seagulls. The Egyptian now has 10 goals and six assists in the Premier League against Brighton, the most any player has against them in the division.
Liverpool has now won eight of its 10 Premier League games under Arne Slot, the most by a Reds manager in his first 10 top-flight matches in charge of the club.
The Dutchman commended Liverpool's second-half comeback, but acknowledged his side was "outplayed" in the opening 45 minutes.
"We needed another second-half performance because we were outplayed in the first half. They were better on the ball, more aggressive without the ball," Slot said.
"Then, everything changed in the second half because it was completely the opposite.
"Our attackers scored the goals but the main difference was we were better positioned and we had the ball a lot more.
"Without the ball they made problems for us but in the second half we just kept running."
The difference proved to be in Slot's substitutes, with both goals coming after the introductions of Luis Diaz and Curtis Jones.
Jones set up Salah for the winning goal, a strike Slot described as "special" in his post-match assessment.
"I was waiting for us to score the goal, but we didn't. That's why I made the substitutions. Both of them came on really strong," Slot continued.
"Then you can say it's a bit of luck, but the goalkeeper cannot react. The second goal was a Mo Salah special.
"It's not the first and not the last time he will score from that position."
