Liverpool have moved into fourth place in the Premier League table with a 5-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in this afternoon's clash at the Amex Stadium.

Roberto Firmino netted either side of half time for the Merseyside giants, with Emre Can, Philippe Coutinho and an own goal from Lewis Dunk making it a miserable afternoon for the home side.

Glenn Murray did score a consolation goal for the Seagulls, but Chris Hughton's side were well beaten and have now failed to win in their last four top-flight matches.

Liverpool wasted little time in going on the offensive on the South coast and Firmino should have done much better when heading over the crossbar during the opening stages of the game.

A second opportunity arrived for the Brazilian in the 11th minute but, despite the ball falling invitingly for him, Firmino drilled his effort harmlessly into the stands.

Brighton responded through Murray but the Seagulls' top goalscorer also missed the target after being put under pressure from close range by Georginio Wijnaldum.

The home side had started to make an impact in the game, but just before the half-hour mark Liverpool went ahead through Can, who met Coutinho's outswinging corner to power a header into the roof of the net.

Two minutes later, the visitors doubled their advantage through Firmino, who latched onto a cross from compatriot Coutinho before finding the bottom corner of Mathew Ryan's net from eight yards out.

Brighton made it to half time without conceding a third and they came close to halving the deficit straight after the restart, only for Simon Mignolet to make a stunning save to deny Murray from point-blank range.

However, within 30 seconds Liverpool had extended their lead through Firmino, who was in the right place inside the penalty area to confidently finish a sweeping counter-attack after being teed up by Mohamed Salah.

The game appeared to be done and dusted as a contest but Brighton immediately pegged one back through Murray from the penalty spot, with Jordan Henderson having been harshly adjudged to have fouled Shane Duffy inside the area.

All of a sudden, Brighton were in the ascendancy but they struggled to create enough chances to seriously put Liverpool under pressure of letting slip a three-goal lead for the second time in two weeks.

As the game entered the final quarter, Coutinho began to have an increasing influence on the match and it came as no surprise when the in-demand midfielder put Liverpool into an unassailable lead.

After winning a free kick on the edge of the area, the Brazilian fired the set piece under the wall and past goalkeeper Ryan for his fourth league goal of the season, and the Barcelona target was not finished for the afternoon.

With a minute remaining, Coutinho sent another attempt heading towards goal, but his shot took a deflection off the unfortunate Dunk and went into the net.

The scoreline was harsh on Brighton, but the result will serve as a reminder to Hughton and his team that they still have plenty of work to do to fully settle into life in the Premier League.

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (4-5-1) Ryan; Bruno (Schelotto 77'), Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Knockaert (March 70'), Propper, Stephens, Brown (Izquierdo 70'), Gross; Murray

LIVERPOOL (3-4-3): Mignolet; Can, Lovren, Wijnaldum; Alexander-Arnold, Milner, Henderson (Grujic 90'), Robertson; Coutinho, Salah (Oxlade-Chamberlain 80'), Firmino (Solanke 88')