Liverpool came from behind to earn a point in the Premier League for the first time this season, with Florian Wirtz netting a deflected equalizer for Arne Slot's side after Chemsdine Talbi's opener.
While it was a positive that the Reds didn't collapse after going 1-0 down, as it has several times of late, the draw was not wholly convincing. Federico Chiesa was required to clear a late shot off the line; had he not, Liverpool would have been facing a 10th defeat in 14 games in all competitions.
Next up for Slot and his side is a trip to Leeds United on Saturday. This is how the UK national media reacted to Liverpool's 1-1 tie with Sunderland at Anfield.
BBC Sport: "The fierce spotlight that has been trained on one world-class Liverpool legend switched to another on Anfield's latest desperate night. Mohamed Salah has been under scrutiny for his poor form this season — and was consigned to the substitutes' bench for the second successive Premier League game as Sunderland visited on Wednesday.
"But it was captain Virgil van Dijk, a peerless defensive bedrock as Liverpool have swept up the full collection of major prizes, whose poor form became the focus of attention during the 1-1 draw.
"Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, both signed lucrative new two-year deals in the summer, with not one Liverpool eyebrow raised at the notion of handing contracts to a veteran duo much closer to the end of their careers than the start. Indeed, it was a cause of celebration — but now there is no escaping the brutal reality that standards have dropped alarmingly for both.
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool (Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
"Liverpool have been vulnerable in defence ever since head coach Arne Slot and the club's recruitment team embarked on a £450m summer refit that has yet to prove anything like value for money. At the same time, Van Dijk has started to lose the air of invincibility he has carried since his £75m move from Southampton in January 2018."
Daily Mail: "Quite how Arne Slot will feel today, as he digests it all, can only be speculated but he will not need any reminding that only a swish of Wirtz's left leg plugged a likely volcanic eruption from a crowd that is somewhere between flabbergast and fury over the way Liverpool's season has unfolded.
"Who would have thought they didn't go home talking about Salah? This was the 318th Premier League game Liverpool have played since Salah made his debut at Vicarage Road on August 12, 2017 — only 17 of those took place without his involvement. His durability, simply, has been freakish.
"But here we are in new territory. He sidled out of the tunnel before kick-off with a forced, faint smile, grappling with the fact for the first time in his Liverpool career he had not been selected for two consecutive matches despite being fit and available.
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"Call it ego if you want but this was the realisation that his days as a guaranteed started are over. You would be foolish to describe this as the beginning of the end, as he has too much quality and too much desire, but the sands have evidently started to shift."
The Telegraph: "Not for the first time, Anfield could hail the most impressive recruitment team in the Premier League. Take a bow Sunderland.
"Had they been in attendance, John W Henry and his moneyball disciples might have led the standing ovation for their well-earned point. Sunderland paid £155m for 14 new players in the last transfer window, creating a vastly improved team who have come from the Championship to the fringes of a Champions League place.
"Liverpool, in contrast, paid £450m to go from champions to the most expensive work in progress since the Gaudi cathedral. They certainly have no resemblance to the side who were building the foundation of their title success this time last year.
"For Arne Slot, the road to wherever this is all leading is not yet taken, the most harrowing chapter of his management career still to reach a definitive conclusion.
"There were some who considered the page turned with victory at West Ham last weekend. Another poor performance as Liverpool ground out a home draw was evidence there is still much to be written before what has become the sorry tale of the past four months concludes.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03: Florian Wirtz of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Andrew Robertson during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Sunderland at Anfield on December 03, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Andy Robertson congratulates Florian Wirtz after his run and shot helps bring Liverpool level against Sunderland (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
"They were fortunate not to suffer a third successive home defeat, thankful that Florian Wirtz’s shot deflected off Nordi Mukiele to set up a frantic climax, and even more so to Federico Chiesa for the save of the season. The Italian dashed the length off the pitch to prevent a Wilson Isidor winner, clearing off the line."
The Guardian: "The celebration was justified yet indicative of another worrying night for Arne Slot. It was the 94th minute and Federico Chiesa was waving his arms in front of Liverpool fans, rejoicing not in delivering a victory befitting his job as a striker but in saving the Premier League champions from certain defeat.
"Sunderland should consider their point at Anfield as an opportunity missed. Chiesa’s celebration followed his goalline clearance to deny Sunderland a first win at Anfield since October 1983.
"Slot, though restrained in his technical area, must have been tempted to join in. His team were staring at a 10th defeat in 14 games when Isidor, on as a Sunderland substitute, raced through from goalkeeper Robin Roefs’s smart pass and rounded Alisson in the Liverpool goal.
"Chiesa, on as a substitute as Slot chased victory, had abandoned his attacking instincts to track back and produced a vital block. Liverpool were spared another inquest, just about."