Liverpool had to dig deep against an in-form Sunderland team at Anfield as they went above Manchester City in the table after a 2-0 win. Sunderland frustrated Liverpool throughout the first half and things got worse with their most influential player, Philippe Coutinho, was forced off with an injury in the first half.
A player going off on stretcher seemingly with a lot of pain is never a good scene and the fans will hope that it is not as bad as it looks. Liverpool’s struggle to break down the compact Sunderland backline continued in the second half.
Sunderland got their share of chances too and if not for Loris Karius’ heroics under the bar, the Reds could have been a goal down. Divock Origi, the man who replaced Coutinho, managed to score past Pickford in the 75th minute and Liverpool never looked back after that. The ever-reliable James Milner dispatched a late penalty to confirm the win.
Here are Liverpool player ratings from the game.
Loris Karius: 8/10
Made a few stunning saves coming off the line. Always looked focussed in the game. Slowly but surely, the German is gaining confidence at Anfield.
Nathaniel Clyne: 6.5/10
Overlapped on a regular basis but lacked any kind of end product.
Joel Matip: 7/10
Was pretty solid apart from a few bad moments. Played the ball out of the back and his passing was superb.
Dejan Lovren: 7.5/10
A brilliant game from the Croat. Came up with the ball and sprayed it across the pitch. Was a threat from set-pieces.
James Milner: 8/10
A brilliant game from the Englishman going up and down through the left flank. Kept his cool to convert the penalty and kill the game.
Jordan Henderson: 8.5/10
An excellent game from the Liverpool skipper. Kept the team going with his short and long passes. 2 shots, 6 key passes, 91.4% passing accuracy, 4 tackles and 2 interceptions- it was a captain’s display from the former Sunderland man.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 6/10
Not the best game from the Dutchman. Never seemed to produce anything positive, but his workrate was impressive. Mot the same kind of impact as Lallana or Coutinho, though.
Sadio Mane: 6.5/10
Not really a good game from the speedster. Heavy touches and poor passing let him down time and time again. Won the penalty for the second goal, though. Not the best option when you’re playing against a deep defence.
Roberto Firmino: 7.5/10
It was a hit or miss game from the forward. Sometimes he was a letdown with his too much silky kind of game, trying to do too much. Put in some excellent deliveries into the box.
Philippe Coutinho: 6/10
Came off on the stretcher early in the game after picking up a nasty injury. Look impressive with his little shimmies until then.
Substitutes
Divock Origi: 8.5/10
Always seemed positive after coming on. Was all around the pitch and it was evident that he was trying hard to get his team going. Scored a terrific goal from the left side, past Pickford.
Lucas Leiva: NA
Ben Woodburn: NA
