Goals:
1-0: Origi (75, created space for himself before curling inside the far post from the left)
2-0: Milner pen (90, slotted in calmly from the spot by sending Pickford the wrong way)
Bookings: Kone (60, dissent); O’Shea (64, foul); Lovren (67, foul); Pienaar (71, foul)
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Wythenshawe) – made a few strange decisions for both teams, even if he had little choice but to issue the cards and award the late penalty. 5
Attendance: 53,114
Entertainment: ***
Liv Sund
Shots on 7 1
Shots off 20 5
Corners 9 4
Fouls 5 9
Offsides 2 2
LIVERPOOL: Karius 5; Clyne 6, LOVREN 7, Matip 7, Milner 6; Henderson 7, Can 6, Wijnaldum 6 (Woodburn 90); Mane 6, Coutinho 6 (Origi 34, 7); Firmino 6 (Lucas 87). Subs: Mignolet (gk), Klavan, Moreno, Ejaria.
SUNDERLAND (4-3-2-1):
7 Pickford: Didn’t have to make any brilliant saves but still on hand to hold a fair few shots in his direction;
6 Jones: Part of a pretty effective back four and had to be disciplined against a dangerous Liverpool
7 Kone: Strong in the challenge and had to be solid alongside O’Shea and the goals didn’t come through the middle
7 O’Shea: Was a calming presence at the heart of the defence after returning to the team
6 van Aanholt: Defended reasonably well but made a few strange decisions in the final third;
6 Ndong: Had been really effective in front of the back four before his rush of blood handed Liverpool a penalty late on
7 DENAYER: The pick of the Black Cats players from start to finish and made one great goal preventing block in the second half
6 Pienaar: Got through the hard work in the middle and needed to on his return to action;
6 Watmore: Had to work hard in both directions and did so even if he wasted a couple of good positions in the final third
6 Anichebe: Might not have looked like adding to his goal tally but showed he can perform strongly defensively too;
5 Defoe: A pretty peripheral figure for long periods but that was the gameplan and he did his bit to help out.
Subs:
Gooch (for Pienaar 77)
Januzaj (for Watmore 77)
Subs: Mannone (gk), Larsson, Khazri, Manquillo, Love.
MAN OF THE MATCH: JASON Denayer – ended up on the losing side but was a key component of Sunderland’s resilience for the majority of the game.
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