De Zerbi reveals what he told Klopp in touchline disagreement

The Brighton coach disagreed with his Liverpool counterpart, Jurgen Klopp, over an incident in the second half of Sunday’s four-goal thriller.

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi admitted to Jurgen Klopp that his team may have been fortunate to secure a free-kick that led to their second goal.

On Saturday, Brighton and Liverpool played out a 2-2 draw. The hard-fought battle took place at the American Express Stadium. Simon Adingra put Brighton ahead, before Mohamed Salah’s brace put Liverpool in front.

Then, in the 78th minute, Lewis Dunk leveled the score with a free-kick. Kaoru Mitoma won the set piece after Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate closed him down. He also had a shot seemingly touch the hand of Virgil van Dijk during the match.

“I think there was a clear penalty,” De Zerbi said afterward.

“I told the referee in a good way. I think there was a penalty but not a foul when we scored the second goal. I’m honest, and I told Jurgen [Klopp] my opinion and my idea.”

The 2-2 draw maintained each teams’ excellent start to the season ahead of the international break.

Brighton are up in sixth place in the Premier League standings with 16 points from eight games. Liverpool sit one point above the Seagulls in fourth.

The Reds will next face Everton at Anfield on October 21, while Brighton have a road trip to Manchester City coming up on the same day.