"Two months on and with the Egyptian a starter once more, Salah and Arne Slot reaped the rewards of their appeasement as Liverpool eased into the fifth round with a comfortable victory over Brighton. Salah produced a sublime assist, his fourth since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, and scored from the penalty spot as Liverpool condemned Brighton to a fourth defeat in five games."
"Slot admitted he had struggled to sleep while wrestling with the dilemma of whether to rest overloaded players at risk of injury or go strong for an important fixture. He ultimately leaned towards the latter, leaving Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch out of the starting lineup as a precaution but fielding his strongest available side otherwise. There would be no repeat of last season's fourth-round selection and shock at Plymouth."
"The cursed right-back shift went to Jones on this occasion, with Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong all injured and Joe Gomez deemed not fit enough to start. A blood-and-thunder cup tie this was not. Liverpool needed half an hour to find any urgency while Brighton had the better of the opening exchanges without seriously troubling Alisson. The under-pressure Hurzeler could take some encouragement from his players' confidence in possession and willingness to press the Liverpool defence."
Mohamed Salah returned to Liverpool's starting lineup and delivered an assist and a penalty as Liverpool beat Brighton 3-0 to reach the FA Cup fifth round. Arne Slot selected a largely strong side while resting Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch as precautions. Injuries forced Curtis Jones into a makeshift right-back role with Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong unavailable and Joe Gomez not fit enough to start. Brighton began promisingly and pressed well under manager Fabian Hurzeler, but faded as Liverpool grew into the game. Dominik Szoboszlai scored a superb goal and Curtis Jones also found the net, condemning Brighton to a fourth defeat in five.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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