Fabian Hurzeler took a swipe at Liverpool's performance as he claimed his Brighton side were the only team trying to play attacking football at Anfield on Sunday.
Brighton boss Hurzeler claims only 'one team' tried to create chances at Anfield
Brighton's fantastic run of form in the Premier League came to an end as they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.
Brighton went into the contest on the back of four straight Premier League wins, with those victories having come with an aggregate score of 15-0.
Yet the Seagulls' soaring form was snapped as they lost 2-0, with Liverpool's goals coming in a four-minute spell in the first half. Pascal Gross turned into his own net before Alexander Isak tucked in from Bradley Barcola's cross.
Yasin Ayari squandered a golden chance early on, before he hit the post after Liverpool had taken a 2-0 lead.
Brighton had 66.7% possession in the second half but failed to get any of their nine attempts on target, although Trey Nyoni did make a crucial block to frustrate Maxim De Cuyper.
Hurzeler's team finished having created chances worth a combined 1.35 expected goals (xG) to Liverpool's 0.87, although Brighton only had one attempt on target all game.
However, the German felt his team were the ones focused on creating opportunities.
"I think everyone in the stadium saw that there was one team who really tried to create and try to win this game, and therefore I have to praise my players," Hurzeler told reporters.
"I think everyone in the stadium, and you as well, felt there was a missed opportunity for us, because it's not only after the goal or the goals they scored.
"Also, before they scored, we had one or two big chances and I think it was just the difference that they scored, [and] we didn't score.
"They kept a clean sheet because they defended well with their centre-backs, with full-backs [Ronald] Araujo and [Milos] Kerkez.
"I think they blocked a lot of shots. They really defended the box well. We didn't have that efficiency. We couldn't keep the clean sheet because we made easy mistakes; we lost some important personal duels."
Brighton have suffered their joint-most away defeats in the Premier League against Liverpool (seven – also Manchester City), with this now their joint-longest run of defeats at Anfield in the competition (four).
Their 17 shots were their most in a match in the Premier League when managing one or fewer attempts on target.
Liverpool’s possession (35.6%), meanwhile, was their second-lowest on record (since 2003-04) in a Premier League home win, and their lowest in an Anfield league victory since November 2010 (35.3% v Chelsea).
And Hurzeler conceded it felt like a chance missed for Brighton.
He added: "Overall, I saw a team with a lot of good things to take away.
"I saw a team that really had belief in our approach, that stuck to the match plan, that always kept going, and that is very frustrating because we all have the feeling that there is a missed opportunity."
