Sussex

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at St Helens Stadium

If Liverpool proved anything last season, it was that they can never be written off and they are always willing to fight.

It has been a tough start to the campaign for them - they have lacked consistency, struggled with injuries and results have been underwhelming.

But manager Matt Beard hoped the new year, and the return of injured players, would bring a "fresh start" to their season.

He got what he wanted with Friday's 2-1 win over Brighton and it was one of their best performances of the season.

In contrast, Brighton had been full of momentum heading into the winter break and it appeared to disrupt their flow.

They were second-best to every duel, struggled to respond when Liverpool took control and they rarely tested goalkeeper Teagan Micah.

Manager Dario Vidosic described his side as "unrecognisable" afterwards and you could understand why as they lacked all the traits that has delivered them results.

They have got themselves into a strong position, sitting fifth in the table, but they must improve on this performance if they hope to stay there.

Liverpool edged Brighton 2-1, courtesy of a late own goal from Jorelyn Carabali, at St Helens Stadium as the Women's Super League returned from the winter break on Friday. Here is what the managers said to Sky Sports after the game.

Liverpool's Matt Beard: "It was important to win. We have had a tough first half of the season. I think we enjoyed the game on merit. We could have finished the game off and then we conceded a really frustrating goal. I'm really proud of the girls. We had a tough start to the season but they never downed tools.

"We saw a bit of last season's Liverpool. I guess our winner had some fortune to it. We had other opportunities to put the game to bed. But we won the game on an own goal. I think we deserved the three points and it's a big step in the right direction tonight.

"Sam Kerr had a terrific debut and Olivia Smith terrified them. Poppy Pattinson was lucky to be on the pitch from what I was seeing."

Brighton's Dario Vidosic: "We were unrecognisable. We lacked discipline, we lacked aggression. We made simple mistakes and played into their hands. They deserved the win. We just weren't there, unfortunately.

"We have been training two weeks leading in and it was good. But we didn't get anything we needed tonight. We weren't patient and were playing long balls. In terms of structure, we were all over the place. We gave away the ball quickly and were overloaded. And with Liverpool, you will get punished. We got what we deserved.

"There were glimpses of what we wanted but it was too few and far. We didn't look dangerous at all. The errors have let us down. We know we have to be much much better. Otherwise, we will have tough games again."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Brighton forward Warren Aspinall spoke to the Albion Unlimited podcast about Sunday's fixture against Manchester United:

"The Arsenal result can act as a catalyst and you can see [Ruben Amorim's] strategy working now.

"Bruno Fernandes recently played his two best games for a long time. Harry Maguire has had a new lease of life and has always been a good reader of the game and Amorim has fallen on the right combination for his back three.

"The pressure is on United. Brighton have a chance against United having won the past two at Old Trafford. It's a big week for United and Brighton."

Listen to the full podcast here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Thursday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Ipswich fans

Matt: Yet again when we have a chance to pull away from the bottom three we put in a rubbish performance like this. Many of the League One/Championship players are simply nowhere near good enough at this level. Hope Jaden Philogene can do well. This was a rare chance to get three points and leapfrog Everton but we blew it. I am starting to feel that we can't do it when we need to.

Paul: Outclassed and never looked like scoring tonight. With Manchester City and Liverpool up next, then it's likely we are heading deep into relegation territory. The gulf in class is startling.

Robert: Not at the races - too many sloppy passes and kept losing the ball. We need to improve fast and start our run up the table before we start running out of games.

Tim: Poor in possession and lightweight up front. Why Cameron Burgess is not playing defeats me. Perhaps the truth is we are just not up to it. Plus, why put on strikers with only 10 mins left?

Brighton fans

Steve: Great win as we finally dispatched a team in the bottom half of the table. A much better second half and FabianHurzeler seems to be getting to grips with those at his disposal now. Onwards and upwards from here.

Tim: The sort of thoroughly dominant performance from Brighton that we've got used to seeing but usually we glean one measly point from. A well-deserved three points, while at the same time bossing the game, snuffing out what little Ipswich offered, and actually making them look pretty ordinary which, barring a couple of players, they are.

Anthony: We have lost only four league games so far this season, a record beaten only by Liverpool and Arsenal. With all our injuries, this is a tremendous comment on the strength of our team and the way in which it is set up.

Maurice: Relief. Hopefully we have turned a corner but there are many twists and turns ahead. I trust Kaoru Mitoma is returning to goalscoring form

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton defender Joel Veltman said beating Ipswich and keeping a clean sheet was a great late birthday present.

The Dutchman turned 33 on Wednesday and told BBC Radio Sussex he "could not ask for more."

"It's perfect," he said. "We had a couple of games without a win - so it's a big relief. Clean sheet, man-of-the-match as well - can I ask for more? Perfect.

"We need to do better to play out of pressure, but in the second half especially we were really comfortable and they didn't create many chances.

"It was not the best game we've played but the second half gave us confidence, because it was quite comfortable to get the win."

The Seagulls travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday and, while their hosts are currently languishing in 12th, Veltman still believes they have a lot of talent.

"Obviously, they're low in the table for United - but they've got so much quality on the pitch that can change the game in seconds," he said. "We need to be ready for that.

"We love to go there, the atmosphere is nice, they want to press and we know how to play out of that pressure. Hopefully we can go there and get another good result."

Listen to Veltman's reaction here

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

After six draws and two losses, Brighton fans got to celebrate their first Premier League win since November.

The Seagulls had thrashed Norwich City 4-0 in the FA Cup third round at the weekend and this was another enjoyable trip to East Anglia for the Brighton faithful.

Despite dominating the early possession, Brighton were indebted to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen as he made three vital saves to keep out efforts from Nathan Broadhead, Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson.

Those stops, and Wes Burns' failure to hit the target from 12 yards out, gave Brighton an opportunity to turn the game around and once they hit the front, through Kaoru Mitoma's goal, they never looked like losing their lead.

Georginio Rutter came off the bench to add a second late on and took Brighton up to ninth to rekindle hopes of a European push.

"We have suffered in this period and this should give us belief and self confidence," said Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler.

"It wasn't the best performance, but we controlled the game and were stable out of possession. We created more chances in the second half, so we deserved to win.

"Every victory in the Premier League means a lot because it's very difficult to win in this league. We saw that in the recent weeks."