As Liverpool maintain their hopes of a push for the title as we reach the end of November, there was a bizarre nervousness around Anfield as Sunderland came to visit. With one of the league’s poorest defences, this should have been a walk in the park for Jurgen Klopp’s men but it most certainly wasn’t.
The Black Cats defended well and kept Liverpool quiet, largely restricting them to efforts from distance, in the first half, when Phillipe Coutinho’s serious injury saw him stretchered off and many home fans growing increasingly fearful as the game went on that they would miss his magic.
In the second half Jurgen Klopp desperately whipped up the crowds in the stands around him, and it made a difference, with Divock Origi, who replaced Coutinho, finding space to curl the ball through everyone and into the back of the net to put his side ahead.
James Milner then added a second after Sadio Mane won an injury time penalty on what was ultimately a successful afternoon for Liverpool. Sunderland can take pride from the 75 minutes in which they held off the Liverpool attack, but most of the talk after this one will be about the extent of Phillipe Coutinho’s injury.
Read on over the next few pages to see what we can take from the game…