Liverpool fell to defeat yet again this season when Jurgen Klopp's Reds agonisingly conceded a late winner against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The bitter result comes just weeks after the same side trounced Liverpool 3-0 on the same ground, and while the collective approach held greater promise, the engine could not quite churn hard enough to see off one of the Premier League's most slick and cohesive outfits.

Despite taking the lead in the first half, with 19-year-old Harvey Elliott clinching his fifth strike of the season across all competitions, Liverpool's essence waned as the match dragged on, with Albion demonstrating their tenacity in the championship rounds to send their beleaguered opposition crashing out of the FA Cup after falling to the hand of Manchester City in the Carabao Cup before Christmas.

Despite the smattering of positivity that can be taken from the loss - a hike in intensity, newfound determination, the prodigious Stefan Bajcetic impressing once again - Klopp will be riddled with overarching consternation after overseeing such a stark and detrimental plummet from prominence this term, and will be desperately scraping to salvage a shred of optimism from a wayward season now lost deep within a veritable maze of plight on the pitch.

There were multiple poor performances across the Liverpool half once again, with anchor Fabinho coming on to aid the defence in a fleeting horrorshow for his team, but he couldn't do much to prevent the defeat and was rather fortunate not to be shown a red card for an awful challenge on Evan Ferguson.

However, it is offensive focal point Mo Salah who will have left his head coach in anguish after stretching his goalless run to four matches across all competitions.

Despite serving a rolling assist to the impressive Elliott after 30 minutes of action, Salah was unable to use his contribution as a platform to finally flourish, with Sofascore recording the attackers match rating at 6.7 - the lowest of Liverpool's starting frontline.

Making 42 touches across the 90 minutes, the 30-year-old Egyptian sensation failed to utilise his involvement to a degree of notable success, with his one big chance missed following a feeble effort that meandered past the park an encapsulation of the outfit's current woes.

And with the 83-cap Salah, who writer Leigh Curtis adjudged to have "dropped off a cliff" this season, winning just two of his eight duels across the contest, he will need to exhibit a marked improvement with his battling across the pitch if Klopp is to maintain the faith in the £39m gem.

Weighted criticism might appear somewhat harsh to a player that has scored 17 goals and provided seven assists from 30 outings across all competitions this season, but the £350k-per-week phenom has indeed been at the epicentre of the recent wobble, a lapse in form that is turning detrimental with the Merseyside outfit's hopes of silverware this year dangling by a tenuous thread and a battle to even qualify for Europe next season taking centre-stage.

Salah has been one of the most devastating and hair-raising forwards to ever don the famous Liverpool shirt, but he has fallen into obscurity this season, and while he has still maintained a remarkable rate of scoring, his recent performances must be particularly alarming for the club's German manager, who will be crying for his talisman to galvanise the spluttering squad into action.