Brighton score late winner to dump Liverpool out of the FA Cup

Kaoru Mitoma continued Brighton's hoodoo over Liverpool this season, with a late injury time winner to knock the defending champions out of the FA Cup.

Brighton fans would never have expected the 3-3 draw away at Anfield much earlier in the season to be their third best, and worst, result against Liverpool but that's the way things have gone down.

Earlier this month, Roberto de Zerbi's side won 3-0 at home in the Premier League, despite the fact hat-trick hero from the first game Leandro Trossard wasn't available, ahead of his move to Arsenal.

On Sunday, they once again played hosts to Jurgen Klopp's side, and again they were without on of their stars, after Moises Caicedo revealed he wanted to join Trossard in north London.

De Zerbi's side might have thought things were going to be different when Harvey Elliott opened the scoring on the half hour, only after a long VAR check for a potential handball in the build up.

But before the break they were level, after Tariq Lamptey's long range effort was deflected past a diving Alisson by Lewis Dunk, with the defender trying to get out of the way of his teammates shot at the time.

The game looked to be heading for a draw, and a replay that probably neither side would have wanted, when Mitoma popped up to score in the 92nd minute.

MAGNIFICENT MITOMA. SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT. 😱

What a way to win the tie! 🤩@OfficialBHAFC | @EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/cFUg1dUMJF

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) January 29, 2023

"Mitoma is actually so good. Where the f*ck do Brighton find all these players? They've got Caicedo, Ferguson, Mitoma, Mac Allister," one fan questioned.

"Unbridled talent. Sensational goal," a second said.

A third added, "Cracking goal to be fair, the control on that ball before he buries it. Stunner."

Considering the victor's constant ability to replace players with even better ones, Paddy Power joked, "Imagine how good the guy that Brighton have lined up to replace Mitoma is."

"Brighton have lost Bissouma, Cucurella, White, Trossard, Mwepu, Burn, their manager, dropped star midfielder Caicedo, and still dismantling the most expensively assembled teams in world football. What a club," the Mirror's Colin Millar pointed out.

And considering what the loss of Graham Potter has meant to the club, another summed it up, saying, "Brighton’s culture, style of football clearly wasn’t just manager led.

"Just goes to show if you get the fundamental business model right, despite any changes, progress & success still remains a constant."

The win was no more than the hosts deserved and Liverpool were extremely lucky to end the game with 11 men on the field, after three separate incidents late in the game.

Ibrahima Konate was already on a yellow card when he appeared to push Alexis Mac Allister to the ground outside of the area.

The referee thought it was just a coming together and due to the position on the pitch it couldn't be checked, even though the World Cup winner would have been through on goal if not for the collision.

Fabinho was then extremely lucky not to see a straight red, just two minutes after coming on as a substitute, as he caught Evan Ferguson in the back of the heel, with his studs up, instead only seeing yellow.

Andrew Robertson was also booked, as he caught Mac Allister at the top of his boot with his studs, before Mitoma brilliantly found the back of the net.