Lazar Markovic needed three minutes to show his influence Saturday, nine minutes to make a decisive impact and 90 minutes to demonstrate his potential value to Liverpool.
Markovic, 20, scored the only goal as part of a man-of-the-match display in Liverpool’s 1-0 Premier League win over Sunderland at the Stadium of light. Markovic’s early strike was all the Reds needed to beat a flat and uninspired Sunderland, which exited the field to a chorus of boos from the few home fans that were still in the stadium by the time the referee blew the final whistle.
The teams played to a goal-less draw in their last meeting (on Dec. 6 at Anfield). Saturday’s win showed both the progress the Reds have made in the last month and Sunderland’s stagnation. Liverpool won by a small margin, but there was a comfortable distance between the two sides’ performances. Visiting Liverpool was confident and assured for a vast majority of the game. Sunderland was anything but that.
Markovic should have won a penalty kick three minutes into the contest after Wes Brown tripped him inside Sunderland’s penalty area, but referee Craig Pawson made the first of many bad decisions in declining Liverpool’s appeals. The injustice might have eroded a mentally weaker player’s focus, but Markovic showed great skill and composure in scoring just six minutes later.
The goal was Markovic’s first in the Premier League and second in all competitions for Liverpool. Liverpool bought Markovic from Benfica last summer for £19.8 million ($34 million), but the Serbian’s underwhelming form in his first six months at Liverpool stoked fears that he may fall into the “failed transfer” category. If Markovic continues to play as well as he did Saturday, he’ll become a hit at Anfield, and Liverpool will be better off.
Markovic was tenacious defensively and dangerous when attacking. He almost had two goals to his name by halftime but he hit the post with a spectacularly speculative effort in the 30th minute.
Markovic’s goal showed what he now can do. The miss was a glimpse of what he might deliver in the future.
Liverpool dominated the first half from start to finish and would have led by two or more goals had Steven Gerrard, Fabio Borini and others been more clinical in front of goal. But Brendan Rodgers’ side was less convincing in the second period, possibly because Rodgers removed Gerrard at halftime. Gerrard suffered a hamstring injury, and Dejan Lovren took his place. The switch forced Rodgers to make a tactical change, shifting Markovic inside and moving Emre Can into a midfield role.
While Liverpool lost fluency in the second half, Sunderland came to life, despite playing the final 40 minutes with 10 men. Pawson dismissed midfielder Liam Bridcutt in the most important of his bad calls in the 49th minute. Liverpool should have pounced but retreated instead, as Sunderland pressed for the game-tying goal. Adam Johnson came closest when his long-range shot in the 52nd minute wrong-footed goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and hit the crossbar.
10-man Sunderland created a number of scoring chances as the second half progressed and remained on the front foot. But the hosts ultimately lacked the quality and energy to snatch points from a losing position as other clubs have done to Liverpool recently.
Liverpool should be happy to extend its unbeaten run to seven games with the deserved win, but the second-half dip in performance is cause for concern. Liverpool should have overran Sunderland but had to settle for a narrow win against a languishing foe. The Reds must improve further if they are to close the four-point gap between fourth-place Southampton and themselves.
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Thumbnail photo via Scott Heppell/The Associated Press
