Brighton remain in contention for next season's European qualification after coming from behind twice to beat reigning champions Liverpool 3:2 at home in the penultimate 37th round of the Premier League.

At the Amex Stadium, the Merseysiders, who sealed their 20th league title a few weeks ago, took the lead through Harvey Elliott, with newly-signed Connor Bradley doing a fine job from the right side. Yasin Ayari restored parity after a fine attack by the home side in the 32nd minute, but in added time in the first half, Dominik Szoboszlai restored the Reds' lead after an attempted cross that surprised Bart Verbruggen and flew straight into the net of Brighton's Dutch keeper.

After the break, Arne Slot's team could have decided everything, but Mohamed Salah, playing with the captain's armband in his 300th match, missed from a clear position and in close proximity to the opponent's goal. This gave the hosts hope and Kaoru Mitoma, who came off the bench, equalized after a poor clearance of the ball from Danny Welbeck's shot by Alisson Becker. In the 85th minute, another of Fabian Hürzeler's replacements - Jack Hinshelwood, brought the valuable three points to the Seagulls after scoring from close range into an empty net. Initially, the goal was canceled due to offside, but the call was overturned.

Thus, Brighton is eighth with 58 points, and in order to play in the Conference League, they must maintain their position after the 38th round. In addition, the team's options under this condition are as follows - Chelsea to win the third most important European tournament and finish seventh, or Newcastle to remain outside the top 6. A triumph for Chelsea in the Champions League and a place for the Blues in the top 5 would mean a lack of a European quota for the eighth. Liverpool has 83 points, after conceding its fourth loss of the season - three of them away.

In the final round, when the Merseysiders will lift the title, Slot and company host FA Cup holders Crystal Palace, while Brighton visit Europa League finalists Tottenham. | BGNES