The A27 Couldn't Stop Us. Neither Could Liverpool

Brighton 2-1 Liverpool | Premier League | 21 March 2026

We beat the reigning champions 2-1. Danny Welbeck, twice. On a sunny Saturday at the Amex. I'll take it.

Kick-off was delayed fifteen minutes after a shunt on the A27, which set an appropriately chaotic tone for the afternoon. Liverpool were already without Salah and Alisson before a ball was kicked, and then Ekitike, their 17-goal top scorer, limped off after eight minutes following a collision with James Milner. Gone.

The opener was a thing of beauty if you wear blue and white stripes. Mamardashvili, standing in for the absent Alisson, managed to miscontrol a pass and gift us a throw-in deep in their own half. Kadioglu swung one in from the left, Gomez nodded it back across goal, and Welbeck rose above Konate to head home. He then turned round and gave the Liverpool end some proper stick. A former Manchester United player, celebrating in front of Liverpool fans. The symmetry was almost artistic.

Then, as Brighton do, we attempted to give it straight back. Lewis Dunk, captain, leader, legend, headed the ball blindly back towards his keeper from a harmless Mamardashvili long ball, without checking whether anyone was lurking. Milos Kerkez was lurking. The Hungarian nipped in and lobbed Verbruggen beautifully from close range. Dunk's face said everything. The man would apologise to you for breaking his own leg.

However, Welbeck was not done. Minteh crossed from the left in the 56th minute, Hinshelwood diverted it back across the six-yard box, and there was Danny, unmarked, tapping home. VAR had a poke around for the offside and found nothing to work with.

Brighton held on through seven minutes of added time, a Verbruggen save from Jones, a yellow card for Chiesa for clattering Kadioglu, and then the whistle.

Brighton 2-1 Liverpool. Top half of the table. Four wins in five.

Liverpool head into the international break without a Premier League win in three games, with PSG waiting in the Champions League quarter-finals. Arne Slot was booed by his own fans last week against Spurs. He hammered Galatasaray 4-0 midweek. Now this. Being Liverpool in 2026 is a complicated business.

Jimmy Carr says if you want to take the piss out of a Liverpudlian, just ask someone to say 'can of Coke.' In Brighton we just ask a scouser to say 'Danny Welbeck.'

And where are the keyboard warriors a while back? The ones who were absolutely everywhere after the Arsenal defeat. Gone. As soon as the result goes in. Genuinely no idea where they go. I like to imagine a skip.

Final Thought

Danny Welbeck is 35 years old. He has played for Arsenal, Manchester United, and Watford. He has spent long stretches of his career either injured or underestimated. Today he scored twice against the reigning Premier League champions and became, quietly and without fanfare, one of the best strikers to play for this football club in years.

Take care of yourselves. And each other. Unless you're in a skip.