Mohamed Salah strikes as lacklustre Liverpool edge past Brighton

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Liverpool recorded their third successive Premier League victory after Mohamed Salah's goal was enough to beat Brighton.

Salah put the Reds ahead midway through the first half and that goal turned out to be enough for Liverpool, who jumped to the top of the table following Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Wolves earlier in the day.

Jurgen Klopp named an unchanged starting XI for the third match in a row which meant no place in the match day squad for summer signing Fabinho.

The hosts should have gone ahead after 10 minutes when Andy Robertson's cross found Roberto Firmino but his header was brilliantly stopped by Mat Ryan.

But after being met with initial resistance, Liverpool then went ahead. James Milner superbly won the ball back in midfield and the ball eventually found Salah after good work by Sadio Mane and Firmino to make it 1-0.

The goal livened Liverpool up and Georginio Wijnaldum had a go at goal before Salah also struck, only to be denied by a block from Shane Duffy.

Mohamed Salah made it two in three with a well-taken finish against Brighton. Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images

Brighton, 3-2 winners over Manchester United last time out, offered little in the way of attacking threat. They almost had a way back into the match four minutes after the restart when Naby Keita was caught in midfield but Anthony Knockaert slipped as he shot and his effort was no trouble for Alisson in the Liverpool goal.

Yves Bissouma then had a free kick in a dangerous position but the Liverpool wall did its job and blocked it for a corner. The home side were not at the fluent best as Chris Hughton's men defended in numbers and Firmino's shot 20 minutes from time was easy for Ryan.

Brighton should have salvaged a point in the dying minutes when Pascal Gross found himself unmarked in the area but his header was straight at Alisson and the Brazilian pushed it away to safety.