Brighton captain Lewis Dunk struck a stunning equalizer to deny Jurgen Klopp three points on his seventh anniversary as Liverpool manager.
After catching out Alexis Mac Allister, who was making his first return to his previous club, Simon Adingra blasted past Alisson to give Brighton the lead.
Klopp’s team equalized after Dunk’s botched ball resulted in Darwin Nunez setting up Salah to sweep home, before Salah scored from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.
It was given to Pascal Gross after he dragged Dominik Szoboszlai down by his collar.
Liverpool had a fantastic opportunity to extend their advantage when substitute Ryan Gravenberch, who came in for Harvey Elliott at the start of the second half, hit the crossbar from close range when it appeared simpler to score.
It turned out to be a costly error, as Dunk equalized in the 78th minute with a first-time finish from Solly March’s free kick.
In an exciting contest, Joao Pedro then blew a late chance to win it for the hosts, blasting over from within the box.
Brighton refuses to sleep.
Brighton have made tremendous progress under Roberto de Zerbi, but doubts have been raised about their ability to balance Europa League play with the rigors of the Premier League.
They are winless in four games in all competitions, but for the second time this week, the Seagulls refused to lie down and exited the ground to a standing ovation from their fans.
After rallying from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Marseille in the Europa League on Thursday, De Zerbi’s side produced another courageous display to salvage a point.
Liverpool appeared to be on their way to win after coming back from a goal down thanks to Adingra’s strike, only for Dunk to make amends for his earlier gaffe and ensure Brighton avoided back-to-back league defeats heading into the international break.
Pedro’s poise let him down, and De Zerbi was cautioned by referee Anthony Taylor for arguing after his team was denied a penalty after Kaoru Mitoma’s shot bounced up off Virgil van Dijk’s knee and onto the defender’s elbow.
“At the moment, I’m sorry because we’re conceding too many goals,” Brighton manager stated.
“We’re working hard, but it may not be enough.” In football, it is possible to have a phase in which you concede too many goals when you do not deserve to.
“That’s an excellent point. I believe we performed better than Liverpool, particularly in the first half. But we let up two goals in a horrible way.”
Klopp is irritated on his wedding anniversary.
Liverpool have now failed to overcome Brighton in four attempts, and Klopp, who took over the Reds on this day in 2015, will be frustrated that his men were unable to hang on to the advantage after turning it around.
Their most recent Premier League participation resulted in a 2-1 loss to Tottenham when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) failed to overrule an inaccurate judgment to deny a Luis Diaz goal for offside while the game was still goalless.
They got off to a slow start at the Amex Stadium, but Salah’s goals transformed a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage, putting last week’s events behind them.
No Liverpool player has scored more than Salah during Klopp’s tenure, but his 191st and 192nd club goals were unable to secure victory.
The Reds enter the international break with 17 points from eight games, one more than sixth-placed Brighton, and remain in touch with the top six.
“The second half, we should have scored for 3-1, one or two really good opportunities,” Klopp remarked.
“However, because we don’t score there, we keep the game alive.” It was a stressful situation for both teams. In the end, I believe that is the correct result.”
