Suggestions that Jurgen Klopp’s side might finally be about to show signs of cracking had strengthened when a narrow defeat at Manchester City, their first of the Premier League campaign, was followed by an exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The response on Saturday, however, showed Klopp’s side lack neither character nor the spark of inspiration, this time provided by Mohamed Salah, to prevent a slip from turning into anything more damaging. Facing a Brighton outfit who are notoriously tough to break down, Liverpool held Chris Hughton’s side at bay, were persistent in their probing, and, through Salah’s clever run and subsequent penalty, were able to claim the victory that reasserted their position at the summit of the League.

This wasn’t a case of winning ugly, although Liverpool were by no means at their best. It was more a case of winning efficiently and while Klopp’s side have played with far greater fluency on other occasions, Robertson, the left-back, acknowledged this was the kind of win that can help a team become champions.

“It’s just the winning mentality and finding a way, and that’s what we did,” said Robertson. “But that’s what all the teams are doing now. Manchester City haven’t played their best but have been winning games, and Tottenham have done the same. I think we are all showing signs of doing that. Whoever wins the league will look back on some games and go ‘do you know what, we probably weren’t at our best there, and that was probably one that helped us turn one point into three or zero into one’. And I’m sure we’ll look back on this game as one of them.”

Robertson, though, insists the players will be able to cope with the growing expectations over the coming months. “We let everyone else talk abut that because the only pressure for us is playing for Liverpool,” said the Scotland international. “And we can deal with that.

Everyone started talking about Champions League last year and we dealt with that although of course we fell short. We know how important every game is and that’s why we have been at 100 percent in all these game and Saturday was crucial for us.

It helps ease the tension when Salah is around to undo tricky opponents. The Egypt international was quiet in the first half but sprung to life after the restart, quickly testing David Button the Brighton goalkeeper with a low shot, before weaving his way past Pascal Gross, drawing a clear, and clumsy, foul by the midfielder that allowed Salah to score from the penalty spot for his 17th goal of the season.

Injuries forced Klopp to rethink his defence, employing Fabinho alongside Vigil van Dijk in an unfamiliar central defensive pairing but apart from a couple of early signs of weakness, the Reds were more than capable of dealing with anything the hosts could muster as an attacking force.

Robertson didn’t agree the FA Cup defeat might prove beneficial - the Scot admitted his disappointment at seeing another opportunity to win silverware slip away - but after a testing couple of weeks when the depth of the squad has been examined, Klopp will no doubt welcome the prospect of a free weekend or two. That should help repair minds and bodies ahead of what should be an exhilarating run in. “We hope we are here to stay,” said Robertson. “That’s the main objective, keep winning the games and keep on top because that’s where we are right now.

“But if things do start going wrong we need to get back on track quickly. I wouldn’t say it went wrong at the Etihad but it was good to follow that up with a win and we did that here.”

BRIGHTON (4-5-1): Button 7; Montoya 6, Duffy 7, Dunk 7, Bong 7; March 6 (Knockaert 65,6), Gross 5 (Kayal 78,6), Stephens 6, Propper 6, Locadia 6; Murray 5 (Andone 65,6)

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 7, Fabinho 6, van Dijk 8, Robertson 8; Shaqiri 5 Milner 71,6), Henderson 7, Wijnaldum 6; Salah 7 (Origi 90), Firmino 5, Mane 6 (Keita 89).

Referee: Kevin Friend 7