Captain Lewis Dunk scored a dramatic equaliser for Brighton to deny Jurgen Klopp three points on his eighth anniversary as Liverpool boss.
In an absorbing encounter, Simon Adingra fired past Alisson to give Brighton the lead after catching out Alexis Mac Allister, who was making his first return to his former club.
Klopp’s side levelled when Dunk’s misplaced pass ended with Darwin Nunez setting up Salah to sweep home, before Liverpool’s Egyptian forward struck from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.
It was awarded after Pascal Gross dragged Dominik Szoboszlai down by his collar.
Liverpool missed a golden chance to increase their lead after substitute Ryan Gravenberch, on for Harvey Elliott at the start of the second half, hit the bar from close range when it seemed easier to score.
It proved a costly miss as Dunk made it 2-2 in the 78th minute with a first-time finish from Solly March’s free-kick.
In a thrilling game, Joao Pedro then missed a late chance to win it for the hosts, firing over when well-placed inside the box.
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Brighton refuse to lie down
Brighton have made rapid progress under Roberto de Zerbi but there have been questions whether they can cope with balancing Europa League football with the rigours of the Premier League.
They are without a win in four games in all competitions but, for the second time this week, the Seagulls left the pitch to a standing ovation from their supporters after refusing to lie down.
Having fought back from 2-0 down to draw their Europa League encounter with Marseille 2-2 in France on Thursday, De Zerbi’s side produced another spirited performance to rescue a point.
Liverpool looked to be on their way to victory after bouncing back from going behind to Adingra’s goal, only for Dunk to atone for his earlier error and ensure Brighton avoided back-to-back league defeats going into the international break.
It might have been even better but Pedro’s composure let him down, and De Zerbi was booked by referee Anthony Taylor for protesting after his side were denied a penalty when Kaoru Mitoma’s attempt flicked up off Virgil van Dijk’s leg and on to the defender’s arm.
“At the moment I’m sorry because we’re conceding too many goals,” said the Brighton boss.
“We’re working a lot, but maybe it’s not enough. Or maybe in football it can happen that you have a period where you concede too many goals when you don’t deserve to.
“It’s a good point. I think we played better than Liverpool, especially the first half. But we conceded two goals in a very bad way.”
Frustration for Klopp on anniversary
Liverpool have now failed to beat Brighton in the past four attempts and there will be frustration from Klopp – who took charge of the Reds on this date in 2015 – that his players could not hold on to the lead after turning it around.
Their last appearance on the Premier League stage ended in the controversial 2-1 defeat against Tottenham when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) failed to overturn an incorrect decision to disallow a Luis Diaz goal for offside with the game goalless at the time.
They made a sluggish start at the Amex Stadium, but appeared to have put last week’s events behind them when Salah’s goals turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.
No Liverpool player has scored more than Salah during Klopp’s time in charge, yet his 191st and 192nd club goals ultimately were not enough to clinch success.
The Reds head into the international break on 17 points from eight games – one more than sixth-placed Brighton – and very much in touch with the leading pack.
“The second half, we should have scored for 3-1, one or two really good opportunities,” said Klopp.
“But because we don’t score there, we keep the game open. It was intense for both teams. I think it’s the right result in the end.”
