Fabian Hurzeler fumes at 'bad decision' against Liverpool and makes 'quality' admission

Liverpool knocked Brighton out of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win at Anfield against Fabian Hurzeler's side, but the German was unhappy with the penalty awarded to Mohamed Salah

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler.(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was left frustrated with the officials as his side crashed out of the FA Cup against Liverpool at Anfield, with Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai among those to get on the scoresheet.

Salah was a very good performer on the day, with the Egyptian being brought down in the second half inside the penalty area. He slammed home the spot kick and capped off a good all-round performance.

However, Hurzeler and Brighton felt hard done by, feeling that Salah went down too easily under the challenge from Pascal Gross, where he was pulled back by the shoulder.

"It is a bad decision," Hurzeler told BBC Sport. "It is just not good enough. It is difficult to speak to them [the officials]. We started the game well, controlled the ball and the game changed a little bit when they scored.

"The goal came out of nowhere. We had two big chances in the first half and we didn't use them. Liverpool were more effective.

"Second half, it was the same picture we had a big chance with Lewis [Dunk] and then a two or three minutes after they scored. That was the difference; they used their moments and we didn't.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored Liverpool's second against Brighton in the FA Cup.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"In the end, it is a disappointing result because our fans were great today, they supported us for 90 minutes and they deserved more.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves, we can't complain about these moments. It is about us and me taking responsibilty and working for it. You have to do the small step right, and then we can take a big step."

Hurzeler's men have been on a poor run of late, last winning more than a month ago. Since knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup in the third round, it has drawn two games and lost four.

However, the German felt that this was a step in the right direction. It is something to build on, even if Liverpool ran out comfortable winners in the second half.

"Very disappointed because I think we started the game well, we were good on the ball and had big chances in the first half," Hurzeler told TNT Sports.

"Good quality from Liverpool decided the game. We always tried to come back but we lost a little bit of belief to come back. The fans were great today; they deserved more.

"We had enough chances to score a goal. It was the moments that decided the game; they scored and we didn't. You can't defend all the sections from Liverpool. They had one or two and the penalty decided the game.

"[We just have to] keep going. Of course, we are not in a good moment but we are fully committed and the team showed again that we stick together. It's not easy to come out of these situations. You have to work for the good moments."