A late piledriver from Caltex Socceroo Aaron Mooy almost saw Brighton and Hove Albion snatch a draw with leaders Liverpool in the Premier League overnight.
Mooy’s 85th minute rocket forced a great save out of substitute keeper Adrian, who just 10 minutes earlier had come on to replace the sent-off Alisson Becker.
Despite the best efforts of Aussie duo Mooy and keeper Mat Ryan, the Seagulls went down 2-1 at Anfield as the Reds opened up an 11-point gap at the top of the EPL ladder.
Ryan was excellent in goal for the visitors, making five saves including two brilliant stops to deny Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the first half.
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The Caltex Socceroos gloveman was beating from two set pieces, with both goals scored by towering Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk.
The defeat leaves Brighton 15th on the EPL table, three points above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, Adam Taggart’s superb K-League season has ended with an assist in Suwon Bluewings’ 4-1 loss to Sangju Sangmu.
Taggart, who finishes the campaign with 20 goals, set up Han Seok-Hee’s early opener before the hosts scored four unanswered goals.
Luongo the super sub for Wednesday
The introduction of Caltex Socceroos midfielder Massimo Luongo sparked Sheffield Wednesday to a crucial 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the Championship.
Luongo came on with 13 minutes left at the Valley, with scores locked at 1-1 in a tight contest.
A couple of minutes later Wednesday won a penalty – converted by Stephen Fletcher – before Atdhe Nuhiu iced the result in stoppage-time to catapult the Owls to ninth spot.
Elsewhere, Jackson Irvine’s Hull City slumped to a shock 3-1 loss to lowly Barnsley, where fellow Aussie Kenny Dougall was an unused substitute.
Goalkeeper Adam Federici also watched from the bench as his Stoke City stayed in the drop zone after a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Degenek’s Red Star surge clear
Red Star Belgrade are the team to catch in the Serbian Super League after Milos Degenek’s side recorded an impressive 2-0 win over Vozdovac overnight.
Degenek started for the defending champions, who scored twice after the break to take the points and open up a seven-point lead at the top of the ladder, with a game in hand.
In Austria, midfielder James Jeggo played the last 30 minutes as Austria Wien trounced Hartberg 5-0.
Martin Boyle continued his comeback from a long-term injury with Hibernian, playing the last 20 minutes of his side’s 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock in Scotland.
Elsewhere, Ajdin Hrustic played 90 minutes as FC Groningen lost 1-0 against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie, while Apostolos Giannou’s AEK Larnaca were beaten 2-1 by Anorthosis.
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