Stoppage time Pascal Gross penalizes Liverpool with all three points

Pascal Gross scored a penalty in injury time to draw Brighton 1-1 at home to Liverpool, as VAR returned to center stage.

The champions moved a clear point at the top, but were left lamenting one afternoon in which the interventions seemed to go against them.

Las Gaviotas should have exposed the visitors’ makeshift defense twice in the first 20 minutes. First, Aaron Connolly somehow fired wide as he punted before Neal Maupay inexplicably fired a wide penalty. The Brighton forward’s miserable afternoon was compounded when he was taken out injured moments later.

Liverpool fought back and almost snatched the lead after the half hour. Mo Salah came home after charging a sublime pass from Roberto Firmino, but VAR belatedly scored the goal on a narrow offside decision.

Klopp responded by bringing in Jordan Henderson in the interval and it paid dividends as they produced a much more confident performance, although James Milner was later removed as the Reds’ injury problems continue to mount.

Diogo Jota broke the deadlock in the hour and Liverpool saw another goal disallowed for offside when substitute Sadio Mane headed in late.

The visiting team was stunned when the referee consulted a field-side monitor before awarding the penalty shot that Gross converted, after a review of Andy Robertson’s challenge with Danny Welbeck.

The result sees the Merseysiders one point ahead of Tottenham before Lilywhites’ clash with Chelsea on Sunday. Brighton remains 16th.

Liverpool will now look to secure qualification for the Champions League round of 16 when they host Ajax on Tuesday night, while Brighton will prepare for a south coast showdown at home to Southampton on 7 December.

More VAR drama. The review system played a huge role in this encounter and once again social media lit up as fans debated its pros and cons.

On the whole they were right, but the decision to disallow Salah’s goal in the first half was very close. It conjured up memories of the lines drawn to chalk Henderson’s winner in the Merseyside derby. The Reds will feel like they’ve already suffered as a result of VAR this season, but they’re not the only ones showing their irritation. Most people who love soccer are frustrated by the margins of precision that are used.

One solution being discussed is a ‘margin of error’ rule similar to what is being implemented without the backing of FIFA in the Dutch Eredivisie. They have introduced a 10cm ‘linesman call’ to avoid forensic discussions during the game. Your VAR uses the same grid technology but with 5cm wide lines. If those lines touch, VAR does not intervene and sticks to the original decision. It won’t solve some of the problems, but it is an interesting alternative.

Jordan Henderson (Liverpool). The introduction of the Liverpool captain reinvigorated his team and inspired an improved second half. The midfielder can sometimes have divided opinions, but there is no doubt that he brings leadership and calm to the process.

BRIGHTON: Ryan 6, Veltman 6, White 7, Dunk 6, Webster 6, Gross 7, Bissouma 6, March 6, Connolly 7, Welbeck 6, Maupay 5. Subs: Trossard 6, Lallana n / a, Jahanbakhsh 6.

LIVERPOOL: Alisson 7, N Williams 5, Phillips 6, Fabinho 6, Robertson 6, Wijnaldum 7, Milner 6, Minamino 5, Jota 7, Firmino 6, Salah 7. Subs: Henderson 7, Mane 6, Jones 6.

Matchcast: full match stats and commentary

10 ‘- BRIGHTON CHANCE! Maupay spins in the center circle and completely divides Liverpool’s defense. Connolly is clean, but somehow he manages to shoot away from the far post.

20 ‘- BRIGHTON MISSED THE PENALTY! Maupay sends Alisson down the wrong path, but slides his shot from the spot outside the goalkeeper’s left post. The penalty was awarded for a foul on Connolly by Williams.

34 ‘- THE VAR CANCELS THE GOAL OF LIVERPOOL! – Firmino launches a long kick from Alisson for Salah. The Reds forward runs and heads home with poise. The VAR verifies an age and finally determines that it is offside. That was tight.

60 ‘- GOAL! – Brighton 0-1 Liverpool. Jota takes Salah’s pass, jumps past a couple of challenges, and takes a low shot towards the goalkeeper and into the corner.

81 ‘- BRIGHTON CHANCE! Robertson nearly deflected a March cross into his own net after Jahanbakhsh failed to connect with a header.

84 & # 39; LIVERPOOL GOAL CANCELED! Mane heads from Henderson’s free kick, but he’s offside and VAR rules him out.

90 + 3 ‘- GOAL! – Brighton 1-1 Liverpool. Gross takes his kick from the center and Brighton is level! The kick was awarded after the intervention of the VAR. The referee checked the monitor and pointed to the spot after Robertson caught Welbeck trying to clear.

Maupay is the first player to start a Premier League game, miss a penalty and be substituted before the break since Dennis Bergkamp against Derby in April 1998.

Jota has scored nine goals in 14 games for Liverpool in all competitions, including eight in his last eight.

Liverpool have lost more points from winning positions this season (6) than in all of last season (5).

This is the first time Liverpool have lost points in the Premier League thanks to goals scored after more than 90 minutes since August 2017, with a Miguel Britos goal that earned Watford a 3-3 draw.