After a dull first half, Liverpool and Sunderland came out firing after the break and drew 1-1 in dramatic fashion.
It was very much a tale of two halves at Anfield. The Reds finally took the game to the Black Cats in the second half and turned the game into a crazy back and forth that featured a clearance off the line by Federico Chiesa after goalkeeper Robin Roefs set Wilson Isidor up beautifully.
On the other end, Arne Slot’s men were pushing Sunderland deep inside their own box. Eight of the Reds’ 15 attempts in the second half came from the 80th minute onwards. But before that, things were very different in the first half.
What changed between the first and second halves of Liverpool vs Sunderland?
Different approaches from each team
Liverpool went into the game with a more cautious approach than usual, especially considering they were at home. They weren’t pressing too high and allowed Sunderland to exchange a few passes in their defending third.
The Black Cats are capable of having possession and working with the ball, but it’s clearly not Regis Le Bris’ plan A.
They did manage to accelerate down the wings and get in and around the box a few times, but took their first shot almost 30 minutes into the match – a long distance effort by centre-back Omar Alderete.
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When the Reds had the ball, however, the guests did put a few bodies in the attacking half to try and prevent short build-ups from the back. It wasn’t the most intense pressure, but enough to destabilize what Slot wanted to do. Most of the first half was dull as both teams were cancelling each other out.
In the second half, however, things changed. Mo Salah came off the bench immediately to replace Cody Gakpo and try to inject some pace into Liverpool’s attack.
As a result, they were much more aggressive and managed to occupy the final third more often. The Reds recorded over twice as many touches in the opposition in the second half (23) as they did in the first (10).
Sunderland accepted Liverpool’s dominance and retracted themselves, making it look like a more one-sided affair. Still, it was them who scored first – and it wasn’t the only deflected effort or attempt that came from an opponent’s mistake.
| Liverpool | Sunderland | |
|---|---|---|
| PPDA (1st half) | 12.1 | 17.2 |
| PPDA (2nd half) | 9.0 | 28.0 |
Long shots, deflections and errors
Both teams attempted many long shots this evening, a combined 15 – the second most in a Premier League game this season. Only Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United had more (16).
In the first half, it was basically the only way they found to threaten each other. The other was via individual errors from the opponents.
Curiously, the first one came from the safest centre-back with the ball at his feet on the pitch: Virgil van Dijk. He would make another later on, even more costly. Daniel Ballard, Robin Roefs and Enzo Le Fee also returned the favour – one of them put Florian Wirtz through on goal, but the German failed to capitalise.
Alisson didn’t look too safe either, almost parrying a shot into his own net after a Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai miscommuncation led to Trai Hume firing from distance. The crossbar saved the Brazilian goalkeeper.
And it was precisely van Dijk, caught between playing a pass and clearing the ball, who gave Sunderland possession in the lead-up to Chemsdine Talbi’s opener. His (long, mind you) shot deflected off of the Dutch defender, just to add insult to injury.
Arne Slot unlocked Liverpool in the second half
Liverpool have been underwhelming for quite some time now, and this performance certainly didn’t make their fans feel better. But the second half alone might.
Arne Slot promoted many changes after the break that basically turned the Reds into a much more aggresive, collective and attacking side. Salah was heavily involved during his time on the pitch.
Later on, Curtis Jones replaced Joe Gomez and Hugo Ekitike came on for Alexis Mac Allister. Jones added a lot more energy to a lacking right side which saw every play end whenever Gomez touched the ball.
Ekitike is a very associative striker and gave them a different option compared to Alexander Isak. Overall, Liverpool had a lot more players present in the attacking half. This enabled a lot more actions in close proximity and good connections between players.
One of them actually led to the equaliser. Wirtz saw what would have been his first Premier League goal be awarded as a Nordi Mukiele own goal, but his movement and flair were what allowed the Reds to earn a point.
In the end, Liverpool can find comfort in the level of performance they reached in the second half. While Sunderland maintained themselves in the top six, knowing they played a good game and have now lost just one of their last seven matches.