Albion 2 Liverpool 1: Welbeck double floors the champions

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Bruce Talbot

2026-03-21T14:30+00:00

Delight for Danny Welbeck after he gave Albion an early advantage. 📷James Boardman

Danny Welbeck’s double stunned Liverpool at a vibrant Amex to seal a fourth win in five for Albion.

The striker’s 11th and 12th goals of the season made it the most prolific Premier League campaign of his career.

Welbeck headed Albion into an early lead and he restored their advantage from close range in the second half after Milos Kerkez equalised.

They were both relatively simple finishes but the only time Liverpool’s back four had any respite was when Welbeck was substituted with seven minutes left.

Albion had other chances with Giorgi Mamardashvili denying Ferdi Kadioglu, Diego Gomez and the outstanding Yankuba Minteh in a superb second-half performance by Fabian Hurzeler's team.

Jump for joy: Danny Welbeck is joined by his teammates after scoring his first goal. 📷Simon Roe

Liverpool suffered an early blow with top scorer Hugo Ekitike limping off and it got worse for them on 14 minutes.

Kadioglu had time and space to measure a cross from the left to the far post. Gomez was similarly unchallenged when he headed the ball back across the face of goal and Welbeck rose above Ibrahima Konate to bury a close-range header.

Albion had another good chance but Gomez mistimed his header from Minteh’s cross and it went a couple of yards over the target.

Liverpool came back into it and Bart Verbruggen kept out Alexis Mac Allister’s header with a fine save down at his left-hand post. Dominik Szoboszlai drove a free-kick from a central position well over before they equalised on 29 minutes.

Danny Welbeck scores his 11th goal of the Premier League campaign with this close-range header. 📷James Boardman

Lewis Dunk, as he has done countless times in his Albion career, guided a header back towards Verbruggen but hadn’t noticed Kerkez on his blind side and he lobbed the ball into an empty net.

Mamardashvili clawed Minteh’s cross away to prevent Welbeck from profiting and Albion were first to threaten after the break.

Kadioglu surged forward from left back to the edge of the box and Mamardashvili pushed away his shot. The corner was recycled to Minteh but Jan Paul van Hecke headed over from a great position in the six-yard box.

No matter, it was 2-1 on 57 minutes. Minteh produced another telling delivery from the left and Jack Hinshelwood, unmarked at the back post, turned it into the path of Welbeck who couldn’t miss from four yards.

James Milner puts ex-Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister under pressure. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Mamardashvili made a sensational save when he flung himself towards the top left-hander corner to turn away Gomez’s powerful free-kick as Albion sensed there could be further reward for a superb attacking display in the second half.

Liverpool responded but Verbruggen was equal to Curtis Jones’s shot before Mac Allister headed wide from a great position. Albion were happy to hit Liverpool the break and Mamardashvili made another fine save when Minteh got in on goal.

Minteh got a standing ovation when he was replaced by Kaoru Mitoma, whose first involvement was to waltz into the Liverpool box and tee up Hinshelwood, who was in a great position but got his feet in a tangle and missed from six yards. Liverpool broke but van Hecke made a perfectly-timed tackle to rob Federico Chiesa in the six-yard box.

Danny Welbeck leapfrogs Lewis Dunk after scoring his second goal. 📷Simon Roe

Mamardashvili made another save late on when he blocked Yasin Ayari’s volley got the reward their excellent second-half performance deserved.

Albion: Verbruggen, Wieffer, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Milner (Baleba 75), Gross, Minteh (Mitoma 75), Hinshelwood (Ayari 83), Gomez (Veltman 90+1), Welbeck (Rutter 83).