Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Jurgen Klopp give their verdicts after 'difficult' Brighton victory

Van Dijk netted two first half headers to give his side a comfortable advantage but Albion pulled one back from Lewis Dunk's quickly-taken free-kick in the 79th minute to set up a nervy finish.

Liverpool also had their goalkeeper Alisson sent-off for a deliberate handball just prior to Dunk's goal.

"They [Brighton] are a good side," said van Dijk. "They play football and take risks. It's not easy. We should have gone better than we did in the second half but you have to give them credit as well. Unfortunately we got that red card with Alisson then we just had to defend.

"Obviously I am one of the main targets for attacking set-pieces. It is not easy because I get marked normally by the best defensive header of the ball."

Substitute Adrian came on cold after Alisson's dismissal and his first duty was to collect the ball from his own net after Dunk's free-kick left the keeper stranded as he organised his wall.

"I am in the wall" van Dijk added. "I was busy with the wall. I have no idea. The referee gave it and we had to deal with it. It's a pity but we got the three points."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was also pleased to seal another three points atfer some difficult moments against Brighton.

"It was difficult this game because Brighton are a good football side," said Klopp. "They had a lot of possession and we had to work really hard. I loved that the boys were prepared to do that after a busy week.

"Brighton play between the lines and can cause problems. They keep possession well and sometimes when they attack it's hard to defend."