By KBC Associate 
Jack Hinshelwood’s 85th-minute strike gave Brighton and Hove Albion a 3-2 win over Liverpool as they twice came from behind to beat the Premier League champions.
Liverpool had taken the lead early on through Harvey Elliott, but a game defined by verve and fluid attacking play presented plenty of opportunities for both sides, with Yasin Ayari levelling in the 32nd minute.
Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage in bizarre fashion just before half-time, but Kaoru Mitoma levelled again in the 69th minute as his introduction changed the game, which was settled when Hinshelwood turned home Matt O’Riley’s cross.
The win sees Brighton move into eighth in the table, which could still be enough for Conference League football in scenarios in which Chelsea win that competition this season but finish outside the top five.
Jack Hinshelwood scores Brighton’s winner which is initially disallowed for offside… before the semi-automated offside technology allows the goal to stand! ✅
How important will that goal be for the Seagulls? 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/QVAjIlReu8
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 19, 2025
Brighton v Liverpool
An unsurprisingly open start yielded a goal in the ninth minute as Szoboszlai’s cross-field ball was collected by Mohamed Salah, who played through Conor Bradley to surge to the byline and pull back from Elliott to tuck home.
Bradley should have made it 2-0 when he blazed wide of the left-hand post after being teed up by Federico Chiesa and, after a strong Brighton response that saw Danny Welbeck head narrowly off target from close range, the champions were punished for that profligacy.
Following smart hold up play by Welbeck, Brajan Gruda lifted a superb ball over the top of the Liverpool defence for Ayari, who confidently fired beyond Alisson and into the bottom-left corner.
But Liverpool retook the lead in bizarre fashion on the stroke of half-time, Szoboszlai’s cross-cum-shot from the right flank after a free-kick routine with Elliott taking Bert Verbruggen completely by surprise.
Brighton were seemingly undeterred by that setback, and Welbeck was twice denied by Alisson, first from a well-struck free-kick and then at the end of an excellent team move that deserved to produce the leveller.
Those chances were sandwiched by a collector’s item in the form of a glaring Salah miss. The Egyptian somehow slid wide of the right-hand post from Cody Gakpo’s low cross with the goal at his mercy.
That miss saw Salah spurn the opportunity to tie the Premier League record with a 47th goal involvement of the season. Another opportunity for him to claim that piece of history went begging when, having teed up Gakpo, Salah saw the Dutchman lash a volley over the crossbar.
His next chance to move level with Andy Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-95) came and went with Salah denied by Verbruggen from point-blank range.
Again Liverpool were made to pay for failing to put daylight between themselves and the Seagulls, this time with Mitoma’s wonderfully controlled volley on the rebound that beat Alisson after the Japan international had played in Welbeck to again be frustrated by the Brazil goalkeeper.
Mitoma was the best player on the pitch following his introduction in the 65th minute. He stung the palms of Alisson at the near post, but it was Hinshelwood who was the hero, tapping in under two minutes after coming off the bench, his goal awarded after VAR overturned the initial offside call against O’Reilly.
Eighth is unlikely to be enough for Europe, but this victory against the champions served as yet another reminder that Brighton will remain a threat to contend for such rewards in the coming seasons.