Liverpool made it one win from their last five matches on Wednesday after stumbling to an unconvincing draw against Sunderland.
The Reds had put an end to their losing streak by beating West Ham United at the weekend, leading to renewed hope that their torrid start to the season was behind them.
However, that notion fell flat on its face at Anfield as Liverpool failed to get out of first gear against a vibrant Sunderland.
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Who was your Man of the Match against Sunderland?
Florian Wirtz pictured during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at Anfield.
Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images
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Still, things could have been worse. After Chemsdine Talbi put the Black Cats ahead with 23 minutes to go it had looked like Liverpool would lose at home for a third consecutive game.
But the Reds managed to lift themselves off the canvas to deliver a levelling blow and snatch a barely deserved point. Supporters are being forced to cling to whatever hope they can at the moment, and the fact that Liverpool did not lay down in the face of another defeat can offer a small crumb of comfort.
Liverpool finally manage to complete a comeback
Even with the form Sunderland are showing this season, there is no way to dress this up as a good result for Liverpool.
However well they are doing, Regis Le Bris’ team were a Championship outfit last season. To look second best against them at Anfield is not a good look for Arne Slot.
Arne Slot and Aaron Briggs pictured during Liverpool's Premier League match against Sunderland at Anfield.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
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Nevertheless, there is a small, minuscule positive to be taken from the fact that Liverpool did at least rescue a point from a losing position.
Having fallen behind for the seventh time in the Premier League this season, it was the first time the Reds had not gone on to lose the game.
That is a remarkable statistic which does a good job of highlighting the absolute lack of fight displayed by Slot’s team this term.
Although that was again on display in spades at Anfield on Wednesday, Liverpool did at least keep going and show a bit of pride to make sure they did not lose again.
Former players and pundits share their worrying Liverpool verdicts after Sunderland, what needs to change?
“We’re
looking at a team that is putting square pegs in round holes.”
Daniel Sturridge
“Sunderland were fantastic but Liverpool, the
performance was really, really worrying. It feels like a step back. They didn’t
look like scoring. They were lacking zip, energy, pace and power. It’s really
worrying.”
Jamie Carragher
“Liverpool looked like they had no idea how to break this
team down and they got lucky to get a point. On a 90-minute performance
Sunderland really deserved to win the game.”
Dion Dublin
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Liverpool must try to see the positives
While it can be easy for fans to feel downbeat after such a dispiriting performance, the Liverpool squad simply have to try and take all the positives they can right now.
From their point of view, it will be seen as a good thing that they did not simply give up at 1-0 down. This should be a bare minimum requirement, but it has not been happening of late.
At times the shoots of recovery take a while to show up, and small wins should be celebrated in the meantime.
Just about everything has been going wrong at Liverpool this season, so to take any kind of step in the right direction has to be welcomed and savoured.
Fans can think whatever they like, and no one should be happy with Wednesday’s result. But within the Liverpool camp, if they can use this to remind themselves that they can recover from setbacks then maybe it will serve a purpose after all.
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