- Oct 16, 2026
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SportsMafia Wire graphic. Team logos and player headshots via ESPN.
Liverpool climbed into the Premier League's top four with a 2-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday, their fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
The hosts broke through when Florian Wirtz's effort took a deflection to open the scoring. Bradley Barcola then set up Alexander Isak, who has now found the net six times across his last six league appearances. The trio arrived as part of a major attacking rebuild following Mohamed Salah's summer departure, with Isak, Barcola and Wirtz costing a combined £364 million ($487m).
Salah, 34, cut his Liverpool contract short by one year and has since scored 10 goals in 10 matches for Trabzonspor. Captain Virgil van Dijk acknowledged the void left behind, stating, "What Mo has done for so many years as a winger, I don't think anyone can replicate that."
Cody Gakpo also joined the forward line, while 18-year-old England winger Rio Ngumoha came off the bench after being hailed as a "gamechanger" in his previous two outings. Ronald Araujo, on loan from Barcelona, continued his strong form at right-back. Liverpool's lone defeat this season came at home to Manchester City. Jérémy Jacquet, a 21-year-old £60m ($80m) acquisition from Rennes, is also part of the reshaped squad.
Source: ESPN - Mon Oct 26, 1:05 PM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).