Premier League · Matchweek 8
Liverpool vs Brighton finished 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday, with both goals arriving in a four-minute burst midway through the first half: a Pascal Gross own goal in the 17th minute and an Alexander Isak finish in the 21st. The win lifts Andoni Iraola's side to fourth in the Premier League standings, one point behind third-placed Brighton.
We picked this one out as the tie of the day in our Sunday matchday preview. The result follows Saturday's Chelsea 0-2 Spurs defeat, which let Liverpool climb above Chelsea.
- 17' Pascal Gross (own goal, from Florian Wirtz's shot)
- 21' Alexander Isak (assist: Bradley Barcola)
- No goals
Key facts at a glance
- Fixture
- Liverpool vs Brighton & Hove Albion, Premier League
- Score
- Liverpool 2–0 Brighton (half-time 2–0)
- Venue
- Anfield, Liverpool
- Kickoff
- Sunday 25 October 2026, 17:00 AST (14:00 GMT)
- Table after the game
- Brighton 3rd (16 pts), Liverpool 4th (15 pts), Chelsea 5th (13 pts)
- Next
- Liverpool vs Arsenal, Sun 1 Nov, 19:30 AST (16:30 GMT)
Key points
- Liverpool move from fifth to fourth on 15 points after eight games, one behind Brighton.
- It is Liverpool's first home Premier League win of the season and a fourth straight win in all competitions.
- Isak has scored in three Premier League appearances in a row and now has six league goals, second only to Erling Haaland's nine.
- Florian Wirtz went off after 65 minutes with an ankle knock, according to Sky Sports.
How Liverpool vs Brighton unfolded
The wind made clean football hard, and Brighton had the first big moment: in the 14th minute Gross cut the ball back for Yasin Ayari, who fired over. Brighton had already lost Ferdi Kadıoğlu to an apparent hip problem inside ten minutes.
Three minutes after Ayari's miss, Liverpool led. A Ronald Araujo cross was only half-cleared, Wirtz struck it low, and the shot took a heavy deflection off Gross on its way in. The second was built on pressure rather than possession: Barcola blocked Olivier Boscagli's attempted clearance, won the loose ball, drove down the right and pulled it back for Isak to finish from close range.
In the 36th minute Ayari curled a shot against the post after Liverpool lost the ball playing out from the back, while Bart Verbruggen saved from Araujo and Cody Gakpo. After the break Fabian Hürzeler's side pushed forward, and substitute Trey Nyoni made a vital last-ditch tackle on Maxim De Cuyper inside the box.
Our preview said a draw would not surprise us and that Liverpool needed Barcola and Wirtz to break down a well-organised Brighton block. The second part held up: those two were involved in both goals. The draw call did not, and Brighton conceded a league goal for the first time since a 1-1 draw with Leeds on 5 September, according to BBC Sport.
Player of the match: Ronald Araujo (WorldScope's pick, not an official award). Araujo crossed the ball that led to the opener, forced a save from Verbruggen with a powerful drive before half-time, and made last-ditch interventions that the Anfield crowd loved. BBC Sport readers also rated him highest.
Key stats: Brighton had the ball, Liverpool had the finish
Bar width = home share of the total (e.g. 13 of 30 shots = 43%). Stats: BBC Sport match centre.
These numbers tell the real story. Brighton had almost two-thirds of the ball, more shots and the higher expected-goals figure, yet they hit the target only once. Liverpool played on the counter and won 21 aerial duels to Brighton's 9 in a game where the wind punished slow build-up. For the division's top scorers (23 goals in seven games), one shot on target is a rare off day.
What it means for the Premier League standings
Manchester City and Arsenal still share the lead on 21 points, five clear of Brighton. Behind them, the top five now looks like this:
| Pos | Team | Played | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 8 | +11 | 21 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 8 | +8 | 21 |
| 3 | Brighton | 8 | +16 | 16 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 8 | +3 | 15 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 8 | +2 | 13 |
The bigger picture for Liverpool is momentum. Their last Premier League game at Anfield before this was a 3-0 loss to Manchester City, and since then they have won four in a row and scored 14 goals, according to BBC Sport. That run includes a 2-1 comeback at Brentford on 17 October, where Victor Muñoz and Isak scored after the hosts went down to ten men, and a 4-3 Champions League win over Villarreal in midweek. The defence is not perfect, as Ayari's chances showed, but the Isak, Barcola and Wirtz attack is clicking.
For Brighton, this was only their second defeat in 13 matches in all competitions this season. Their +16 goal difference is still the best in the league, so one loss at Anfield does not end their top-four case.
What's next
Liverpool host joint leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday 1 November, kickoff 19:30 AST (16:30 GMT). Brighton travel to the other joint leaders, Manchester City, on Saturday 31 October. Wirtz's ankle will be the main fitness question for Iraola before the Arsenal game. Track every kickoff on our live scores and fixtures page.
FAQ
What was the score in Liverpool vs Brighton?
Liverpool won 2-0 at Anfield on 25 October 2026.
Who scored for Liverpool against Brighton?
Pascal Gross scored an own goal in the 17th minute from Florian Wirtz's shot, and Alexander Isak scored in the 21st minute from Bradley Barcola's cut-back.
Where are Liverpool in the Premier League standings?
Liverpool are fourth on 15 points after eight games, one point behind Brighton and six behind leaders Manchester City and Arsenal.
When do Liverpool play next?
Liverpool host Arsenal on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 19:30 AST (16:30 GMT).
How we checked this
We checked the score, scorers, minutes and attendance against the club's official report and two independent reports, and took the table and stats from BBC Sport after full time (25 Oct 2026, about 19:30 AST).
Follow WorldScope on X for live updates: @worldscope_now
Comments