Garth Crooks has selected two Liverpool players in his Team of the Week.
The Reds claimed a 2-0 win at Brighton over the weekend thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Victory at the Amex saw Liverpool move to within three points of leaders Manchester City in the league table.
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And Crooks has gone with goalscorer Diaz as one of two Reds for his weekly XI.
But he admits the Colombian was fortunate not to sustain a serious injury after being clattered by Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the process of opening the scoring.
“I said after the Carabao Cup final that this lad looked a bit special and he continued to prove the point at Brighton,” said Crooks for the BBC.
“The way the player has slotted into the Liverpool setup in just a couple of months you could be forgiven for thinking he has been there all his life.
“Fortunately for Diaz he escaped serious injury, having shown immense bravery, after what can only be described as the most diabolical challenge by Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez.
“How Mike Dean, a referee who seems to take pride in holding the record number of sendings off, inexplicably allowed Sanchez to remain on the pitch only compounds my theory that he knows everything about the rules but cannot distinguish between what is reckless and what is not.”
The other Liverpool player who got the nod by Crooks was Joel Matip, who got the assist for Diaz’s opening goal.
Crooks explained why it’s “not often” that he picks Matip in his team of the week selections, and heaped praise on the Reds centre-back.
“It's not often Joel Matip makes my team of the week largely due to his team-mate Virgil van Dijk's outstanding performances,” said Crooks. “But on this occasion I was compelled to select the former Cameroon international.
“It started with the ball he played for Luis Diaz to run onto and score his second goal for Liverpool since his arrival.
“The ball was magnificent. The rest of the defender's performance was consistently high.
“Matip always seems to be the junior partner when he plays alongside Van Dijk and is often left to do the last-minute blocks and headers off the line while Van Dijk controls the traffic and organises all the other proceedings.
“Both defenders played well and no heroics were required against Brighton but Matip pipped it for me.”
