Sunderland v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

Sunderland v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective



The biggest issue from a Liverpool perspective is that they were unable to add more goals, despite a dominant performance. In large part down to Sunderland's defending, but also down to their own wastefulness. There were a lot of moments where players dallied, made the wrong choice or simply produced a poor final ball, which could easily have ended up costing them. It was particularly evident how much Sunderland struggled in the first half but they did come out for the second half with a flurry to try and get at Liverpool, but it petered out as Liverpool picked them off with some good breaks and really should have notched more than one goal.

It showed the huge difference in Liverpool's performances when they attack the opposition. Playing it about slowly around the backline really does not suit the players and it just needs to be dropped. This is a team built to beat the opposition by scoring goals, not by boring them to sleep. It is perfect for risky football, for outscoring the opponent, even if it means games finish 4-3. Everything about the team is attacking, which is why it has been such a disaster when it tried to play defensively, hopefully Slot has finally seen the light and will let them off the leash for the rest of the season.



Sunderland


There have been signs of the Mackems running out of steam over the last few weeks, this game was the biggest one yet as they struggled to press with energy and were slow to react meaning Liverpool were usually first to loose balls. To get this far through the season unbeaten at home is huge, especially for a newly promoted side and they are basically already safe from relegation with 12 games left to play. They will be disappointed to not have made a better fist of it, as they were, despite the scoreline only ending as 1-0, clearly second best throughout. I expect Le Bris to be particularly annoyed that they never managed to test out Endo, playing out of position at right-back, enough.

The biggest takeaway for me from Sunderland is just how badly they miss Xhaka, they lack leadership and experience without him there and his return cannot come quickly enough. However, you cannot fail to be impressed by just how well they have done this season so far.



Liverpool


Alisson - Sunderland struggled to test him out much, so he was not really pushed in this game, but when called upon he was there. Looked a bit better on the ball, more like himself in fact.


Endo - did well, there was one instance Angulo turned him inside out, but most of the time he dealt with him well. Extremely unfortunate about his injury, though you have to wonder why his teammates did not tell him to stay down and get treatment. His bravery is well known, but you could see immediately that it was serious and he just needed to stay down and let Gomez get ready to come on. Such a shame for him, he deserves so much better than to pick up a long term injury after finally getting a start. He has never let LFC down and always gives his all, even if he is not the greatest player, his attitude is exceptional and could have been a great help during the bad run at the end of the year. During those periods, you just need a bit of fight and desire and he has both in spades.


Konate - a decent performance, but he was always at risk of a foul being given against him by grappling with Brobbey. Yes, Brobbey was also grappling, but he is in an attacking position, so the risk is worth it, a free kick given away by him is miles away from his own goal, but Konate is near to his goal and any foul is a dangerous one or even a penalty. Also, for such a big guy, he does flop to the ground far too easily under little pressure and then gets up in instalments while complaining to the referee about a non-existent foul.


van Dijk - a good game, defended well and played some of those long raking passes he is famous for. Once Liverpool got through the early couple of minutes, when Sunderland tried to press, there was time and space on the ball and he used it well to move the ball on quickly.


Robertson - with no real winger up against him, he was able to get forward at will and under little real defensive pressure. A good game for him to play in and he produced a couple of good balls.


Mac Allister - there were some better moments from him, but he still did not do enough over the course of the match. It is hard to understand how he keeps a place in the team.


Gravenberch - if he could just figure out how to pass to a teammate, he would be some player.


Gakpo - a much better performance from the Dutch winger. He has been having a poor season, but looked much better with the ball moved forward quickly.


Wirtz - always involved in the play, it is not just his quality on the ball though, it is also his work for the team. He often pops up deep in his own half working back and breaking up attacks or filling in gaps when someone else has got forward.


Salah - looked so much better, so much more like himself, each game he seems to be getting better.


Ekitike - looked tired and in need of a rest. He was still dangerous, but there was a slight drop to his level.


Gomez - replaced the injured Endo in the 69th minute. His extra pace over Endo helped him a lot, with Liverpool mainly controlling the game, it was a mostly comfortable appearance.


Jones - took the place of Gakpo in the 75th minute. Helped to see out the game with his workrate and calmness in possession.


Chiesa - was brought on in the stead of Ekitike in the 88th minute. Too late to really affect the game.

Written by Tris Burke February 17 2026 08:08:01