Liverpool 2-1 Brighton: Adam Lallana gives strangely-timed title admission

Fans have questioned former Reds star Adam Lallana's timing after the midfielder gave his take on the Premier League title race an hour before Liverpool and Brighton kicked off.

Lallana was a fan-favourite at Anfield, playing a vital part in Liverpool's early rebuild under Jurgen Klopp.

The feeling is clearly mutual, with the 35-year-old stating his desperation for his former employers to win the league title this season.

As nice as this was to hear for Reds fans, the timing of Lallana's statement was quite bewildering - given the fact that his current side, Brighton, were about to take on the team he just gleefully admitted to wanting to top the table.

"It's absolutely amazing coming home, I love coming back here," he said on Sky Sports' pre-match coverage of the game

"And I do call it home. Great fond memories here and I'm used to playing here. We've picked up a good few results in the last few years. The title race is really heating up. Of course I'm desperate for Liverpool to win the league and go far in the other competitions.

"I still think it's possible if they can maybe lose one more game and that's what I'm aiming for today unfortunately. We've got our own fight this season and we want to make Europe again."

In a tightly-fought contest, Liverpool went on to come from behind to beat Lallana's Brighton, with goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah cancelling out Danny Welbeck's early opener.

However, the game's final stages were incredibly nervy for the Anfield faithful - and Lallana was nearly the one to deliver a crushing blow to Liverpool's title aspirations.

Finding space on the right-hand side of the box, the Englishman flashed an effort across goal, beating Caoimhin Kelleher but just going past the far post.

Reds fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when his effort went wayward of Kelleher's goal, with Klopp's side able to see out the rest of the contest to bring home a vital three points.