Poor Liverpool needed an own goal from Nordi Mukiele to salvage a lucky 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
The brave visitors were on their way to their first win at Anfield in 42 years when Florian Wirtz thought he had scored his first Premier League goal to draw the team level below average, but the goal was later credited to Mukiele.
Jamie Carragher accused Liverpool, who were without Mohamed Salah of starting the game for the second time in four days, of “sleepwalking” throughout the game after Kemsudine Talbi’s superb mid-range opener.
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Kemsudine Talbi’s long-range shot puts Sunderland ahead against Liverpool!
With Alexander Isaac failing to make any impact at the top end, the hosts suffered from imbalance and sloppiness and struggled to rebuild their squad once again. Salah was brought on at half-time to create a sense of urgency, and despite not having a shot on target, he touched the ball more times in 15 minutes than Isak controlled the entire match.
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Mukiele’s own goal puts Liverpool back in the game!
Substitute Wilson Isidore then had a chance to take the lead in stoppage time when he was released by goalkeeper Robin Roofs, but his brilliant effort rounded Alisson, only to be thwarted by Federico Chiesa, who retreated on the line. The visitors also had two shots on target thanks to Trey Hume and Omar Alderete, with six shots on target compared to Liverpool’s four.
“Any team that does the fundamentals right has a chance of beating this Liverpool team,” Carragher concluded, with the Reds currently languishing in eighth place in the league, one point behind sixth-placed Sunderland.
Carla slams Liverpool for ‘worrying’ them
Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports:
“Sunderland were fantastic, a great addition to the Premier League. (Dan) Ballard and the guys at the back were great.
“I was very worried about Liverpool’s performance. I feel like they really took a step back after the win against West Ham. They didn’t look like they were going to score goals and I don’t remember any big chances.”
“They lack energy, speed, pace, power. It’s really worrying.”
What’s wrong with Liverpool?
Liverpool are underperforming all over the pitch
Liverpool have failed to win three consecutive games at Anfield for the first time since losing eight in a row in March 2021, and have conceded the first goal in seven of their last nine league games. What could be so terrible?
“A beginner’s mistake”
The slot side is making basic mistakes all over the pitch. Jamie Redknapp said after the match that the once domineering Virgil van Dijk had been one of the worst offenders in recent weeks, and that he too had become a “second player”. Talbi’s opening goal was created by a long goal kick, with Isidore beating Ibrahima Konate with first contact. Van Dijk then intervened to try and steal the ball, and he did, but panicked with his delivery and allowed possession, before backing away and turning his back on Talbi’s shot. All of them are elementary.
Second strongest in duels
Liverpool were unable to match Sunderland’s intensity throughout, reacting a yard late and at times being reluctant to even run. Joe Gomez was praised for his solidity in the win over West Ham at the weekend, but lost eight of his nine games. Salah lost all four in the second half. Even Dominik Szoboszlai, widely regarded as Liverpool’s most athletic midfielder, won only one out of five duels on the ground. Overall, Sunderland made more tackles, intercepted more and made more blocks, while also creating more shots on target at the other end.
toothless top
Isak had a poor start at Anfield and there are no signs of things getting better. He may have scored in the win over West Ham, but that’s the team he has scored 27 goals for this season. His anonymity is worrying for a player who paid a £125 million transfer fee just three months ago. Hugo Ekitike produced more xG values than he did, but was on the pitch for only 16 minutes. And even worse, Chiesa was brought on in the 86th minute. Of the three shots Isak collected, none were on target, but he had two touches inside the opposition box, the same as Van Dijk.
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Sky Sports’ Daniel Sturridge looks at what’s wrong with Liverpool and Arne Slott.
Slott admits creative struggles
Liverpool manager Arne Slott:
“It was a bit similar to the weekend, we didn’t concede many goals, but we didn’t create much either. Of course we were very unlucky to concede, but we reacted well after that. We did everything we could to make it a winner.
“Again, we didn’t score enough, but they were good at seizing the moment and scoring.
“They’re very compact down low. There’s a reason why we’re not the only team that hasn’t beaten them. They haven’t conceded too many goals. They look slow, but there are so many players around the 18-yard box that it’s hard to find free players. There weren’t many chances for either team, but we did what we expected and went for try, try, goal.”
