Liverpool Under-21s returned to winning ways in style on Saturday afternoon after a disappointing defeat to West Ham on Monday night as they produced an impressive attacking display to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 5-1 at the Academy.

Rob Page’s side wasted no time taking control of the Premier League 2 encounter, with three goals inside a blistering opening 25 minutes putting the Reds firmly in command.

Josh Sonni-Lambie opened the scoring after just two minutes, finishing off a quick move which saw Isaac Mabaya drive forward before cutting the ball back into the danger area. However, there was concern for Mabaya immediately afterwards, as the right-back was forced off after picking up an injury while providing the assist.

The hosts’ momentum was unaffected by the early change, with Michael Laffey doubling the advantage in the 11th minute. Will Wright was at the heart of the move once again, turning past Sebastian Ademola before delivering into the central area, where Laffey arrived to finish first time.

Wright then got his name on the scoresheet himself midway through the first half. After winning a duel with Ademola, the forward collected Joe Bradshaw’s excellent ball in behind before cutting inside and firing a superb effort into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Brighton managed to give themselves a lifeline deep into first-half stoppage time when Valentin Joseph converted from a free-kick delivered into the Liverpool penalty area.

Bournemouth v Liverpool | Premier League Match Preview

The visitors’ hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished after the restart, as Wright struck again just five minutes into the second half, showing excellent composure after spinning away from Callum Mackley before calmly placing his finish beyond Brighton goalkeeper Steven Hall.

The forward almost completed his hat-trick shortly afterwards, only to be denied at point-blank range with a header that was only thwarted by an excellent reaction save from Hall.

Liverpool did eventually find a fifth in the 66th minute, with Alvin Ayman’s dangerous corner inadvertently flicked into his own net by Brighton defender Theo Outen.

Jayden Danns continued to make his return to fitness from the bench, with the forward replacing Bradshaw in the 56th minute and linking up well with Wright in the closing stages.

However, this was the Will Wright show; it was another statement performance. His two goals take him to four in Premier League 2 this season, having already scored twice against Leeds United earlier in the campaign, and it was perhaps his most complete performance in a Liverpool shirt.

Bournemouth v Liverpool | Andoni Iraola Premier League Pre-Match Press Conference

After the match, Dan spoke to Page about his side’s performance, Wright and more…

On the performance: “I did enjoy it today, I did, yeah. We asked for a reaction off the back of a disappointing result at West Ham, not performance. I thought parts of the performance at West Ham on Monday night were very good. The goal we gave away was very sloppy, to say the least. It was a cross, not even a shot. We limited them to one shot on target, and it wasn’t even the goal. So, we were disappointed on Monday night, and I asked for a reaction. They certainly gave us that and some today.”

On Will Wright: “I just said to him I wouldn’t want to play against him. He’s got everything. He’s got the physicality; his touch is getting better. He’s going to need a load of work; of course he is, but he’s on the right path. He’s got an eye for goal. He can score different types of goals. He can score a wonder strike from 23 yards out, wherever he is. He can score a tap-in when he gets across the defender. His movement’s good in the box. He’s going in the right direction, and we’re pleased with what we’re seeing so far.”

On the most pleasing part of the display: ‘We won some great headers at the back post. They’re a good team, they’re a good team. The message before the game was that if you sit off them and allow them to play, they’ll hurt you. So we wanted to be really aggressive and I thought from the first minute to the last, we were. I just said to them as a group, it was an outstanding performance. But as coaches, we still feel on the side that there’s still more to come, which is such an encouraging sign. But I have to mention Michael Laffey and Joe Upton in the middle of the park. Outstanding, proper top midfield performance today.”

On Isaac Mabaya: “No, not yet. I’ve not been in the changing room yet to see him. He gets us off to a great start with a run down the right-hand side. That was part of the game plan, to get him playing high and wide on the right-hand side because of his attributes, his pace and his athleticism. Unfortunately, by doing that, he’s got an injury. What the injury is and the extent of that, we’re not sure.”

On the EFL Trophy: “Well, it’s a competition where we have to compete against more physicality and better players. We’re with a weakened team in respect of international players going away. I don’t quite understand the concept behind it. I get that we want to play against stronger competition and be involved in stronger competitions, but when you’re doing it with a weaker team, it’s frustrating. We want to expose our best players to that; of course we do, because that’s real for them. But when they don’t get the chance to do that because some of the best players will be away on international duty, that’s frustrating. But it gives others an opportunity to step up, and we’ll use that game on Tuesday as a chance to give others some minutes.”

On Ryan Cowley: “Yeah, he’s fit. We’ve got to build him up to his minutes. He’s done a little bit of running at the end today and he can’t train tomorrow because he’s only limited to so many days on grass. But he’s again a midfielder that’s very talented on the ball. I don’t know a lot about him myself because he’s been injured for all the time I’ve been here so far. It’s the last month that he’s been back in training and we’re building him up. Let’s see what happens.”

On Lewis Koumas: “Delighted, but not surprised. I knew the gaffer would love him from the first minute he stepped in. When the gaffer came in, he was one of the ones that we spoke to him about and said we will be. It’s a message to some of the younger players that just by having your enthusiasm and that work ethic can get attention. On top of that, he’s got ability. He’s got some ability. He’s got an eye for goal. You look at the goals he scored at Hull last season, which helped him get promoted to the Premier League. Under pressure, nine times out of ten he’s getting tackled by a centre-half. He still manages to keep his composure and finish with class. He’s got a bright future. I’m really, really pleased for him.”