Brighton vs Liverpool LIVE: Hugo Ekitike injury update after Reds stumble to another Premier League defeat | OneFootball

Hugo Ekitike limps off after suffering a dead leg in the early stages of Liverpool’s defeat at Brighton (Action Images via Reuters)

Danny Welbeck scored a timely double as Brighton dealt Liverpool a further blow in their pursuit of a top-five Premier League finish.

Aiming to build on Wednesday's big win over Galatasaray and banish their inconsistency, Arne Slot’s side instead fell to another damaging defeat - having lost top scorer Hugo Ekitike to what appeared to be a dead leg within just eight minutes of kick-off.

Welbeck punished sloppy Liverpool defending to give Brighton the lead shortly after - although the visitors were handed a route back into the game when Milos Kerkez capitalised on Lewis Dunk’s error to level.

But Welbeck restored Brighton’s lead after the restart with his 12th goal of the season, putting the veteran striker clear as the top-scoring Englishman in the Premier League after being snubbed from Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad.

Brighton were fully deserving of their victory after an energetic performance but Liverpool are now without a win in three in the Premier League and Chelsea could go above them into fifth when they go to Everton tonight.

“I think [Ekitike] having to go off after one or two minutes, not being able to help the team anymore with something that is just a bit of bad luck,” Slot told TNT Sports. “It's not like he's out for three months, at least that's not what I assume, but it's bad enough not to be able to continue. That's a big blow for him. It was in the end also a blow for us.”

Arne Slot on Liverpool's defeat: 'Brighton were the better team'

Arne Slot, speaking to TNT Sports, does not shy away from the face that Brighton were the better side against Liverpool today.

“It is clear that we have lost a lot of points after playing in Europe. I have tried to explain a lot of times already why this is but today we also have to give credit to Brighton. In the second half, they were the better team on the pitch.

“There is always pressure at Liverpool. On me, on the players. That is completely normal. We have qualified for the quarter finals of the FA Cup and the Champions League but in the league we need to make sure that in the end, we qualify for the Champions League.

“As much as I dislike us losing here today, Brighton away has always been a difficult one and will always be a difficult one as long as they keep bringing in so many good players.

“But there are other games where we should have picked up more points, like last week against Tottenham. That is far more unacceptable than this. But even away at Brighton, a club like Liverpool should be able to get a result."

Danny Welbeck talks Brighton performance, and World Cup call-up?

“I think first and foremost it was a great team performance, it was a gritty 11 and we knew we had to put in the hard yards and for everybody to stick together because they've got some amazing quality on the pitch and the individual players that they can hurt you in any instant. It was a great performance, a massive three points for us today.

“I like to focus on the positive side. For my name to be mentioned in [the England conversation] is nice. I like to focus on that part of the game and me, I can only control what I can control. I don't like to waste energy on something that I can't, I have no sort of bearing on. So yeah, I focus on me.”

(PA Wire)

'It's a big blow for us': Arne Slot issues Hugo Ekitike injury update

Arne Slot, speaking to TNT Sports, says that losing Hugo Ekitike after just seven minutes was a “big blow” - but it does not sound as if it’s anything more serious than a dead leg.

”I think the players, the fans, we all know that there's only eight games to go to qualify for Champions League and then every game that you have to miss is something you're upset about

“I think him having to go off after one or two minutes, not being able to help the team anymore with something that is just a bit of bad luck.

“Because it's not like he's out for three months, at least that's not what I assume, but it's bad enough not to be able to continue. That's a big blow for him. It was in the end also a blow for us.”

(Action Images via Reuters)

Steven Gerrard: 'You could feel that this performance was coming'

Steven Gerrard, on TNT Sports, addresses Liverpool’s inconsistency this season and struggles to back up their Champions League form in the Premier League.

“The performance wasn’t good enough, but you can almost feel that this performance and this result was coming, even before the ball was kicked,” Gerrard says.

“Liverpool get a couple of injuries to key players like Salah, Allison, on the back of midweek, the manager speaking about maybe the lack of energy they might have, and then you look at Brighton's plans to come and try and play a game with that intensity and that speed, that energy.

“Brighton deserved the win overall, and a big opportunity missed for Liverpool.”