Virgil van Dijk, 10-Man Liverpool Hold on to Beat Brighton 2-1 in Premier League

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 31 matches after beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday, despite seeing goalkeeper Alisson Becker sent off in the 76th minute.

The Brazil international was red-carded after handling outside the box to deny Brighton substitute Leandro Trossard a clear goalscoring chance.  

Virgil van Dijk's brace proved enough for the Reds, but only after they survived a late rally following Lewis Dunk's surprise free-kick for the visitors. Holding on means Liverpool increased their lead at the top to 11 points following Manchester City's 2-2 draw away to Newcastle United earlier in the day.

Leicester City are also 11 points adrift in third, but the Foxes have played a game less and can cut the gap by avoiding defeat at home to Liverpool's Merseyside rivals Everton on Sunday.

Liverpool sluggishly trod their way through a fairly turgid 18 minutes until Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won a free-kick at the expense of Brighton playmaker Pascal Gross. Trent Alexander-Arnold swung it in, and Van Dijk made contact to score.

Van Dijk was strengthening his case for a Ballon d'Or win, but Alexander-Arnold won't have to wait long for awards consideration judging by the rate at which he's creating goals:

Liverpool's chance machine soon had his 17th assist when he and Van Dijk combined again on 24 minutes. The right-back teased in another devastating cross from a corner, and Van Dijk easily rose above Dunk to complete his brace.

A two-goal cushion should have been the signal for a comfortable Liverpool procession to the break. Instead, Brighton upped the ante and began exposing what has been a surprisingly suspect back line recently.

The Reds had failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 matches in all competitions, and it showed when Davy Propper was given too much time to shoot. His effort forced Alissoninto making a smart stop, but the South American was well-beaten when Lewis Dunk somehow prodded wide moments later after Alexander-Arnold had lost track of his man in the box.

Brighton stayed on the front foot after the break, with Gross guiding a cross into Dunk, but the centre-back's header drifted wide. The Seagulls went close again when Aaron Connolly drew Alisson into another save after wriggling free of Van Dijk to get a shot in.

Even so, Jurgen Klopp felt comfortable enough to substitute Mohamed Salah for Adam Lallana. It was a change the Liverpool chief might have been regretting after Alisson was shown a red card for handball outside the box as Trossard was racing through, marking an unwanted career-first for the stopper:

The Reds were punished almost immediately when Dunk surprised deputy 'keeper Adrian with a low free-kick underneath the wall and in to prompt major nerves among the home faithful:

Adrian seemed to be the most affected, with the Spaniard dropping a cross in front of Neal Maupay, but the Brighton striker narrowly avoided tapping in an equaliser. Brighton continued to push and push, but Van Dijk and Co. stood firm to put Liverpool in command of the title race. 

What's Next?

Liverpool host Everton in a Merseyside derby on Wednesday in the Premier League, while Brighton are away to Arsenal the next day.