Liverpool (England), Dec 1 (IANS): Liverpool came away with a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, a result that gives them an 11-point lead over two-time defending Premier League champion Manchester City.

Liverpool (40 points) came out in attack mode and used a nearly identical formula in both of their goals at Anfield Stadium.

After Virgil Van Dijk opened the scoring in the 18th minute off a free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold, the 1.93-meter (6-foot-4) Dutchman then headed home a corner kick by the English defender six minutes later to make the score 2-0.

But the Reds took their foot off the pedal in the second half and ended up struggling down the stretch, particularly after goalkeeper Alisson Becker was sent off in the 76th minute for using his hands to prevent a goal outside of the penalty area.

His replacement, Adrian, then immediately allowed a goal by defender Lewis Dunk, who scored on a set piece to make the scoreline 2-1 however, they failed to equalise as Liverpool came out victorious.