Liverpool came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Sunderland at Anfield as their poor run of form continued but Florian Wirtz impressed – even though he was denied his maiden Reds goal
Liverpool battled back to secure a hard-fought draw at Anfield against high-flying Sunderland on Wednesday night.
A deflected strike from Chemsdine Talbi put the visitors in the lead during the second half, only for Florian Wirtz’s effort to ricochet off Nordi Mukiele and level the scores. The stalemate ensures Arne Slot’s men stay in the top half of the table, closing the gap on the top four to a mere two points.
Mirror Football run the rule over the action at Anfield to assess the performance of the Liverpool squad.
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Alisson Becker 6.
Handled a few direct shots in the first half and managed to deflect a long-range attempt from Hume onto the crossbar. His distribution was somewhat inconsistent, though.
Joe Gomez 6.
Defensively solid early on but showed some hesitation when in possession. Created an opportunity for Mac Allister in the first half but seemed to tire after the break.
Received a yellow card and was substituted.
Ibrahima Konate 6.
Relished his physical battle with Brobbey and kept things straightforward when in possession. Got away with a misplaced header in the second half.
Virgil van Dijk 6.
Left Brobbey sprawling in the early stages, after which the Sunderland striker largely avoided him. Made some strong defensive headers but lost possession leading to the opening goal, which then deflected off him.
Andy Robertson 6.
Showed energy on his return and frequently supported the attack, although his link-up play with Wirtz was less effective in the second half. Was substituted.
Ryan Gravenberch 6.
More noticeable for his defensive efforts than creative ball use before the break. Perhaps a tad too cautious with possession in the second half.
Alexis Mac Allister 6.
Had plenty of ball time before the interval, wasn’t afraid to get stuck in and hit the post with a header, but began to flag as the game wore on. Substituted.
Dominik Szoboszlai 7.
Despite some uncharacteristically careless moments in the first half, he worked hard to get Liverpool moving and twice tested Roefs from distance. Moved to a central position in the second half and had a greater impact.
Florian Wirtz 7.
Started as the floating number 10, pressed well and nearly nudged one past Roefs before switching to the left wing after the break and had a shot deflected in for the equaliser.
Cody Gakpo 6.
Put in a lot of effort down the left, even if the quality and variation were sometimes lacking. Substituted.
Alexander Isak 5.
Missed the mark with one ambitious attempt in the first half and continues to gel better with his team-mates, also put in a solid defensive shift. The tactical changes at half-time didn’t work in his favour, though.
Substitutes
Mohamed Salah (for Gakpo 46) 6.
Came on to huge cheers and seemed like a player with something to prove before getting caught up in the general struggle.
Curtis Jones (for Gomez 65) 7.
Took over at right-back and tried to add more attacking threat, did well to win the ball for the equaliser.
Hugo Ekitike (for Mac Allister 74) 5.
Failed to make any significant impact.
Federico Chiesa (for Isak 86).
Made a brilliant dash back to clear off the line from Isidor during injury time.
Milos Kerkez (for Robertson 86).
Managed to block a header from Van Dijk.
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