Liverpool held by Sunderland despite Raheem Sterling’s best effortsLiverpool 0 Sunderland 0
Sunderland's Lee Cattermole tugs the shirt of Liverpool's Raheem Stirling in the Premier League at Anfield. Two days shy of his 20th birthday, Raheem Sterling attacked Sunderland as though affronted by Gus Poyet’s claim that Liverpool, without Luis Suárez, are nothing more than a mid-table team. The worry for Brendan Rodgers is that the teenager rampaged alone. Poyet’s demeaning accusation still stands.
Liverpool received a painful reminder of the lengths they still have to travel as they became the ninth team to be held to a stalemate by Sunderland this season. Rodgers claimed, before kick-off, that the mood around Anfield had been transformed by two consecutive league victories, but form is not conjured up overnight. His team are approaching a defining period still searching for fluency, invention and someone other than Sterling to shoulder responsibility whenever Steven Gerrard is rested. There was nothing to trouble the observers from Basel here, apart from boredom.
It demonstrates the extent of Rodgers’ dilemma over his captain that Sterling – and only Sterling – provided Liverpool’s best hope and one constant source of quality until being accompanied on the pitch by Gerrard in the 67th minute.
Too many others clung to the margins of a contest devoid of incident. Costel Pantilimon saved from Philippe Coutinho at the end of a flowing Sterling run; both sides had half-hearted penalty appeals waved away; and Poyet again rued the absence of a quality forward to make the difference on mundane afternoons. Rodgers was also on familiar ground after the final whistle, defending the legitimate decision to leave Gerrard out of his starting lineup ahead of crucial games against Basel in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Premier League, but wondering when Liverpool’s next leaders are going to reveal themselves.
“The management of Steven is fine and we can’t solely rely on him,” said the Liverpool manager. “His talent is world class, but the contribution has to come throughout the team. It can’t be up to him every single game to be the catalyst, and he’ll start on Tuesday.
“Our intention was to win the game. The first half was slow in intensity, the second half was much better, but the ball wouldn’t drop to us. It was important we kept a clean sheet and that is seven points from nine this week.
I thought Raheem was fantastic. His threat was incredible and, when Steven came on, it gave the team the world-class quality it needs.” But it was not enough.
There were glimpses of last season’s intuitive understanding between Coutinho and Sterling in Liverpool’s approach work, Glen Johnson provided a constant outlet down the right, but the wise old heads of John O’Shea and Wes Brown were alert to everything that came their way in the centre of Sunderland’s defence.
Connor Wickham had two hopeful penalty appeals dismissed by the referee, Neil Swarbrick – the first, a collision with Martin Skrtel in Sunderland’s opening attack, more convincing than a later tumble under Adam Lallana. Sterling also had a late claim for a spot-kick denied after a challenge by Anthony Réveillère.
Sunderland’s midfield trio of Sebastian Larsson, Liam Bridcutt and Jordi Gómez frequently passed their way around Liverpool’s exposed centre to give Poyet’s side a surprising level of control, but Jozy Altidore and Wickham rarely made their presence felt.
The chances that did fall Sunderland’s way were squandered carelessly. Brown headed Adam Johnson’s inviting corner high into the Kop with the final touch of the opening half.
At the start of the second, from another Johnson corner that skimmed off the head of Skrtel, Wickham arrived unmarked at the back post, but blazed a volley across and wide of Simon Mignolet’s goal. Poyet punched the air in frustration. He summed up the mood to perfection.
