Brighton had 64 per cent of the ball, and Isak’s goal gave Iraola his first Premier League win at Anfield
A Pascal Gross own goal and Alexander Isak’s sixth league goal of the season, four minutes apart, took Liverpool up to fourth.
Oct 26, 2026
Andoni Iraola finally has a Premier League win at Anfield. Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 on Sunday with both goals inside four first-half minutes, and they did it with barely a third of the ball.
Brighton had 64 per cent possession and one shot on target. Liverpool had 35.6 per cent, which Sky Sports says is their second-lowest share in any Premier League home win since records began in 2003-04. Fabian Hürzeler’s side arrived having lost once in the league all season, and he did not dress up how they lost this one.
“We made two easy mistakes to give them a present to score two goals,” the Brighton head coach said.
Four minutes that settled it
The first came in the 17th minute. Brighton only half-cleared a Ronald Araujo cross, Florian Wirtz hit a low shot, and it went in off Pascal Gross for an own goal.
Four minutes later it was two. Bradley Barcola won the ball after Olivier Boscagli’s clearance was blocked, and his cut-back was turned in from close range by Alexander Isak. It was Barcola’s assist in a second straight league game.
Brighton should have been ahead before either of them. Yasin Ayari put a good chance over the bar in the 14th minute, and in the 36th his curling shot hit the post. They pushed more players forward after half-time, but Alisson was not seriously tested.
Isak’s run and Araujo’s afternoon
Isak now has six Premier League goals this season, and he has scored in three league games in a row for the first time since January 2025. Only Erling Haaland, on nine, has more.
Araujo was the player the Anfield crowd took to. He started the move for the first goal, defended the box all afternoon and forced a save from Bart Verbruggen with a powerful shot just before half-time.
The worry is Wirtz. He was taken off for Trey Nyoni midway through the second half after an ankle knock, though he played it down afterwards. “I think it will be alright, it’s not too bad,” he said.
Where it leaves Liverpool
The win takes Liverpool up to fourth on 15 points, one behind Brighton and above Chelsea. Manchester City and Arsenal are level at the top on 21, so the gap to the leaders is still six points.
It was a fourth straight win in all competitions and the eighth in ten games since early September. “This is the fourth win in a row, it feels good,” Iraola said. It took him eight league games to get the home win. The away form had been carrying them until now.