Liverpool dominated Brighton at Anfield, easing into the fifth round with a 3-0 win
Curtis Jones opened the scoring, Dominik Szoboszlai added a brilliant second from Salah’s assist, and Salah sealed the win with a penalty
Despite a bright start, Brighton faded under pressure, leaving Liverpool comfortable
Liverpool eased into the fifth round of the FA Cup as Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah got on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Brighton at Anfield.
Brighton started positively without creating any truly clear-cut chances, though Liverpool began to take control as the first half wore on.
They thought they were in front when Cody Gakpo nodded Szoboszlai's wonderful free-kick home, only for the offside flag to go up, before Jason Steele kept out Salah and Milos Kerkez – the latter with a vital fingertip save after the left-back blasted towards the far corner.
And Kerkez was the catalyst when Liverpool made the breakthrough in the 42nd minute, with his wonderful, first-time cross being steered home by Jones, who was deputising on the opposite side of the back four.
Alisson made a big save to deny Diego Gomez on the stroke of half-time and another to keep out Lewis Dunk's header early in the second period, and Liverpool made Brighton pay for those missed opportunities in the 56th minute.
The Reds' second goal was a thing of beauty as Kerkez floated a cross-field pass to Salah, who cushioned the ball into the path of Szoboszlai with his instep. Racing onto the ball on the right side of the area, the Hungarian blasted a rasping shot into the far corner.
Salah then got a goal – his first in domestic action since November – to go with his assist as he won and converted a 68th-minute penalty, firing into the top-right corner after being clumsily hauled down by Pascal Gross.
Seventeen-year-old substitute Rio Ngumoha thought he had added a late fourth only to be marginally denied by the offside flag, as Liverpool were made to settle for 3-0.
Data Debrief: Droughts over for Jones and Salah
While the in-form Szoboszlai may have scored the pick of Liverpool's goals, Arne Slot will be particularly pleased to see Jones and Salah on the scoresheet.
Jones ended a run of 57 games without scoring for Liverpool, with his previous goal before this one coming against Leicester City in December 2024.
Salah, meanwhile, scored his first domestic goal since November 1, 2025, against Aston Villa. Since then, the Egyptian has been dropped and reinstated by Slot, and scored four goals at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Salah was heavily involved, and this was just the third time in his Liverpool career (in 428 matches) that he has scored, assisted and won a penalty in the same match, with the previous two instances coming against Newcastle United and Arsenal – in back-to-back games – in December 2018.
Brighton actually outshot Liverpool by 17 to 13, though their efforts only added up to 1.22 expected goals (xG) and the Reds finished with 1.82 xG, a figure that was boosted by Salah's spot-kick.
