Liverpool's Champions League hopes took another significant hit this afternoon as Brighton secured a deserved 2-1 victory at the Amex Stadium.
It's now 10 league defeats for Arne Slot's side this season – a tally they haven't reached since the 2015/16 campaign.
The Reds remain stuck in fifth place, sitting two points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth.
Things could get worse for Liverpool later today, with Chelsea facing Everton at 17:30 GMT. A positive result for the Blues would see them leapfrog their rivals in the table.
Danny Welbeck caused havoc against Liverpool as the Brighton man scored twice
|REUTERS
Just days after Slot hailed his team's midweek demolition of Galatasaray as their "best performance of the season," they looked a shadow of that side on the south coast.
Danny Welbeck was the star of the show, netting twice to take his Premier League tally to 12 goals this season.
That makes the 35-year-old the highest-scoring English player in the top flight – a remarkable achievement that makes Thomas Tuchel's decision to leave him out of the England squad look rather puzzling.
The Three Lions boss announced his 35-man selection on Friday for upcoming matches against Uruguay and Japan, but Welbeck's name was nowhere to be found.
His first came early on, heading home at the back post after Diego Gomez nodded the ball across the six-yard area.
Danny Welbeck has given Arne Slot major trouble at Liverpool
|REUTERS
Liverpool's woes deepened within the opening five minutes when Hugo Ekitike was forced off following a collision with former Reds midfielder James Milner.
The Frenchman couldn't continue, adding to an already stretched squad.
Slot was already dealing with the absences of Mo Salah and Alisson through injury before kick-off.
Giorgi Mamardashvili stepped in between the posts for the injured Brazilian, though his afternoon got off to a shaky start when he passed the ball out of play, leading directly to Brighton's opener.
The match itself was delayed by 15 minutes due to a road accident near the stadium.
Liverpool did manage to find an equaliser through Milos Kerkez, who brilliantly anticipated Lewis Dunk's wayward header back to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and dinked the ball into the net.
But Brighton were the better side after the break, with Yankuba Minteh causing havoc down the left flank.
It was his cross that Jack Hinshelwood squared for Welbeck to tap home his second.
Mamardashvili kept Liverpool in contention with several crucial saves, while Verbruggen denied Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo at the other end.
It's Welbeck again 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 21, 2026
The Brighton striker gives his side the lead for the second time against Liverpool!@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/kAdymtIqE2
The defeat extends Liverpool's winless Premier League run to three matches, with just one point collected during that spell.