Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland: Wirtz rescues insipid Reds

Liverpool needed a late own goal to rescue a point against Sunderland as the struggling Premier League champions produced another dreadful display in a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s men beat West Ham 2-0 last Sunday to ease some of the pressure on their manager, but any thought of that result being a turning point quickly dissipated as Liverpool laboured in an instantly forgettable first half.

Having suffered chastening defeats to Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven in their last two home games, it appeared as if it would be a similar story against the Black Cats, who punished Liverpool for failing to take control of the game when they opened the scoring through Chemsdine Talbi’s deflected 67th-minute effort.

But the Reds managed the ignominy of home defeat once again, with Florian Wirtz coming to the rescue as his shot was diverted into the net by Nordi Mukiele nine minutes from time.

While that goal spared Liverpool’s blushes somewhat, their failure to find a winner in the final minutes of normal time and the seven minutes of stoppage time means there will be yet more scrutiny on Slot, though his side gained ground on the top four, moving two points behind Chelsea following the Blues’ 3-1 loss at Leeds United.

For Sunderland, the result will likely only increase their confidence going into the weekend’s clash with Manchester City, which precedes the return of the derby with arch rivals Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light on December 14.

Talbi stuns Anfield

A low-key first half saw Sunderland frustrate a sluggish Liverpool, with the visitors going close from long range as Trai Hume forced Allison to tip onto the crossbar with a vicious drive.

Wirtz earlier had sections of Anfield believing he had ended his long wait for a goal, but his effort had in fact been deflected into the side-netting by Robin Roefs, who was also required to repel a Dominik Szoboszlai strike from long distance before Alexis MacAllister hit the post with a header.

The Argentinian’s exasperated reaction summed up the opening period for the hosts, and Arne Slot’s response was to throw on Mohamed Salah, left on the bench as he was against West Ham, in place of the ineffective Cody Gakpo.

Yet the Egyptian’s introduction did little to spark Liverpool into life, and they were grateful to the woodwork for preserving parity just after the hour when Omar Alderete struck the near post with his header from a corner.

Liverpool’s fortune ran out when Talbi let fly from distance and saw his ambition rewarded as his strike deflected off Virgil van Dijk and beyond the reach of Alisson.

Wirtz and Chiesa to the rescue for Liverpool

Sunderland’s slender advantage looked as if it would be maintained as the Reds struggled to craft anything resembling a response, until Wirtz delivered one out of the blue with arguably his best piece of play in a Liverpool shirt.

The Germany star, under fire for his distinct lack of impact since his £100million move from Bayer Leverkusen, showed brilliant footwork to create for space himself just inside the area, and his resulting effort took a heavy deflection off Mukiele and past the stranded Roefs.

An outstanding pass from Roefs gave Sunderland a golden chance to retake the lead and seal a famous victory as he sent Wilson Isidor through on goal, only for Federico Chiesa to block his effort after the Haiti international had rounded Alisson.

Liverpool huffed and puffed in the dying minutes to find the winner, but Hugo Ekitike’s shot high over the crossbar on the turn encapsulated another underwhelming evening for the champions.