Louise Taylor was at the Stadium of Light. Here’s her verdict. Thanks for reading this MBM.
A philosophical Régis Le Bris talks to TNT Sports. “We faced a very good team with good players … it was another big challenge … the mindset of the team was good … we struggled a bit during the first half … the second half was a bit better … fine margins decide this sort of game … we had a couple of chances but it wasn’t enough … you have to be really composed in the final third … they defended well … you have to be really creative but that wasn’t the case … we keep going … every game at home in the Premier League is a tough challenge … this place has to stay a strong place … with our crowd and our confidence we can keep it going like that … [the FA Cup against Oxford] will be another story … a Championship game … we are excited by this competition … we will go strong!”
Arne Slot gives his verdict to TNT. “In almost all of the things we did, we did really well … we had to defend a lot of long balls … set pieces … we won a lot of second balls … on the ball we were very good … the only thing I can be not so positive about is that if you generate so many chances you should score more than one goal … but today that was enough because we defended very, very, very well in all phases of the game … “a little bit of bad luck” [quoting TNT’s question, which suggested Liverpool had some good luck on their side for the winner] would not be the word I would use for this season … if you look at all the chances we created it tells you something that we needed this luck to score a goal … there were so many better chances … although our set pieces today were also very good … which is nice because we haven’t been the best team in the league for set pieces … [set pieces] make for so many teams in this league a big difference … it’s one of the first times it makes a difference for us … if you play for Liverpool or manage Liverpool every game is a must-win … that’s the pressure you should embrace otherwise you’re in the wrong place.”
He also reports that Wataru Endō’s injury “doesn’t look good … I expect him to be out unfortunately for a long time … what a mentality for him that things didn’t look good but he stayed on the pitch to defend one more set piece.”
Hopefully the managers will be along toot sweet, but for now it’s Florian Wirtz’s turn to chat with TNT. “We had to bring everything on the pitch to get the win here … everyone knows it’s not easy … so we are really happy to have the three points … very important for us … every good game gives you confidence … you cannot impact every game … of course you want to … everyone knows we have to stay focused until the last minute … we did it brilliantly today … not conceding a goal … we are very happy about that … the club deserves to win trophies … us as players we also want to win something … [Brighton at home in the FA Cup on Saturday] is an opportunity to go a step closer to a trophy so we want to take that … let’s see.”
Virgil van Dijk speaks to TNT Sports. “Great win … hard work … a very interesting, difficult pitch … pleased with the three points … recover and go again at the weekend … it was the same for both teams … quite the circumstances … well deserved … great game … we’ll take it … [Sunderland] showed this season how difficult it is to beat them … a lot of credit to them … their fans make it a good atmosphere … we kept a clean sheet … a good match for us … Ibou was outstanding … Macca in front … everyone was putting a shift in … unfortunately Wata going off … the guys worked so hard for us … great to see … we can’t deny [the three points] feels very big but there are still 12 more games to go … we have to try to keep improving … find consistency … against City we did well apart from the last ten minutes … so we have to try to keep building … try to stay fit … stay confident … today was a great step forward with and without the ball.”
The match-winner Virgil van Dijk shows little emotion. Arne Slot allows himself a smile, though, and no wonder: this result has given him a little wriggle room and bolstered Liverpool’s hopes of finishing in a Champions League spot. They were the better team tonight, with Florian Wirtz again impressive, Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté staunch, and Mo Salah improved, if still lacking a bit of confidence with the final pass and shot. But how Sunderland made them work for all three points. They didn’t put Alisson to work, but Brian Brobbey’s match-long battle with Konaté epitomised the spirit that’s got them into mid-table comfort. They’ll be fine. As for Liverpool, they’ve bagged a crucial three points at a pivotal stage of the season, and reclaim some ground as they attempt to chase down Manchester United and Chelsea.
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