Liverpool 2-0 Brighton: Iraola's New-Look Reds End Six-Month Wait for Anfield Win

Liverpool beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 at Anfield on 25 October 2026, and the scoreline will be filed away as a comfortable afternoon. The match itself was not that. Brighton had 64 per cent of the ball, 17 shots to Liverpool's 13, and an expected-goals edge of 1.32 to 1.20. Yasin Ayari blazed over from close range in the 14th minute and struck the post in the 36th. Liverpool scored twice in four first-half minutes — a Pascal Groß own goal on 17 after Florian Wirtz's shot deflected in, then Alexander Isak from a Bradley Barcola cross on 21 — and that was that.

What matters is what the result sits inside. This was Liverpool's first Premier League win at Anfield since April, ending a run of five home league games without one. It was their fourth consecutive victory in all competitions, and Andoni Iraola's first Premier League win at Anfield. Liverpool climb to fourth, within a point of third-placed Brighton. Six months of home league frustration do not vanish in 90 minutes, but the direction of travel has changed.

The raw numbers describe a side that did not dominate the ball and did not need to. Liverpool's 36 per cent possession here sits against an average of 53.2 across their earlier 2026/2027 matches in all competitions. Their 225 accurate passes compare with an average of 406.2. Their 128 passes in the opposition half compare with an average of 229.0. Their four corners compare with an average of 7.0. On the face of it, this was a team ceding territory and looking to strike in moments.

That reading is supported by the finishing. Liverpool scored 0.8 goals more than their expected goals here, against an average of 0.0 across their earlier matches this season. Isak's finish and the deflection that produced the opener were the difference between a narrow win and a frustrating draw. Brighton, meanwhile, managed one shot on target from 17 attempts. Ayari's miss and post strike were the kind of moments that decide matches in which a side has more of the ball but less of the scoreboard.

Reports of the game lean on the word "impressive" for Liverpool's win, and on the chances Brighton missed. Both can be true. Liverpool's pressing and their clinical edge in a four-minute burst deserve credit; so does the fact that Brighton created enough to take something from the game. The next matches will tell us whether this was structural organisation under Iraola or a well-timed burst against a Brighton side that could not finish.

The wider context is a squad that no longer resembles the one Jürgen Klopp balanced so precisely in 2019/2020, when Liverpool took 2.61 points per game across a 38-game Premier League season. Under Iraola this season, the return is 1.88 points per game from eight matches — 4W 3D 1L. That is not a like-for-like comparison, and it should not be framed as one. It is a reminder that the current side is being rebuilt, not restored. Since the summer, Liverpool have added Ronald Araujo, Jérémy Jacquet, Lucca Brughmans, Djylian N'Guessan, Bradley Barcola and Víctor Muñoz, while Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajčetić, Carter Pinnington, Ibrahima Konaté, Harvey Elliott and Andrew Robertson have departed. Barcola's cross for Isak is the clearest sign yet that the new attacking pieces are starting to fit.

One note of caution: Florian Wirtz was forced off in the victory. Sources say only that he was withdrawn; the severity and any expected absence are not established. Given how central Wirtz was to the opening goal, his availability for the coming fixtures is a question Liverpool will want answered quickly.

So: a first home league win since April, a fourth straight win in all competitions, and a top-four position. The temptation is to call it a turning point. The evidence supports something narrower and more interesting — a side learning to win without dominating the ball, built around new players, under a manager still establishing what this Liverpool is. Whether that becomes a durable shift or a short burst is the question the next few weeks will answer.