Liverpool Break Sunderland's Home Fortress to End Stadium of Light Drought

Dominik Szoboszlai had every reason to feel relieved watching Liverpool finally breach the Stadium of Light fortress, though the Hungarian midfielder's absence from the matchday squad meant he could only observe from afar as Arne Slot's men ended a nine-year wait for a visiting victory on Wearside.

Slot himself could scarcely have picked a better moment to bag three points. With managerial casualties mounting across the Premier League – Thomas Frank had just been dispatched at Spurs, while pressure intensified on Sean Dyche, Oliver Glasner, and Fabian Hurzeler – the Liverpool boss could at least step away from the gathering storm engulfing the division.

Szoboszlai's withdrawal, a deliberate choice to avoid compounding a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, forced Slot into an unfamiliar deployment of Endo at right-back. The Japanese midfielder's first Premier League start of the campaign proved problematic in attack, with Liverpool's promising forays repeatedly stalling upon reaching him. Worse still, an ankle injury sustained when his planted foot twisted underneath him forced Endo from the field on a stretcher, raising immediate concerns about the extent of the damage.

The breakthrough had already arrived by then. Virgil van Dijk rose majestically to meet a Mo Salah corner, his header too powerful for Habib Diarra to keep out. It proved the only goal the hosts would concede – and the only one Liverpool would need.

This was unmistakably an Arsenal-style operation: laboured in open play, clinical from set-pieces. Sunderland battled gamely to preserve their unbeaten home record, with Brian Brobbey and Nilson Angulo providing Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate genuine problems. Yet the Liverpool centre-backs proved considerably sterner than they have been for much of the season.

Andy Robertson's rare outing at left-back saw him emerge as another relieved figure – having narrowly avoided a grim January transfer window exit, the Scottish full-back could instead reflect on still operating within a competitive setup.

The evening rarely scaled the heights of Liverpool's best work. Salah notched his 92nd Premier League assist but remains a shadow of his peak self, whilst Cody Gakpo continues to represent a conspicuous flaw in the attacking quartet. Florian Wirtz, conversely, grows more impressive with each appearance, his confidence and intuitive understanding of the game's patterns now fully evident. His touches and flicks drew appreciative murmurs from the commentary box – though those occasionally drowned out by rather more colourful observations from the executive suite behind the main broadcast team, where one observer seemed particularly exercised about Salah's treatment from referees.

Hardly vintage fare, then, yet utterly functional. More crucially, it represents a vital three points in what appears destined to become a tight battle for Champions League qualification with Chelsea and Manchester United. Both stumbled against relegation-form opponents the previous evening, leaving the destination wide open.

Sunderland, for their part, might rue not showing greater ambition earlier in proceedings. Yet for a promoted side to depart on a February night having lost their home record only to Liverpool in a 1-0 defeat – well, that hardly constitutes a campaign disaster.