Missed Opportunities Plague Liverpool As Reds Play Sunderland to 1-1 Draw in Season Opener

Liverpool started strong but faded down the stretch as it played visiting Sunderland to a 1-1 draw in Saturday's season opener at Anfield.

Leading up to the match, supporters were hoping that the Reds' terrific form over the latter half of the 2010-11 season would carry into the new campaign. While Liverpool played a promising first half, Sunderland finished strong and left Reds fans disappointed at earning just a solitary point from the opening fixture.

Liverpool thought it was off to a dream start in the 6th minute as Luis Suarez chased down Kieran Richardson, blocked the fullback's pass and ran in alone on goal. While attempting to round Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet, Suarez was tripped by Richardson and match official Phil Dowd blew his whistle to give Liverpool its first penalty of the year.

But the celebrations were premature, as Suarez shockingly skied his attempt way over the bar and into the stands.

Atonement came in the 12th minute as the newly signed Charlie Adam sent a free kick into the box for Suarez to deflect behind Mignolet and into the net. Anfield erupted and Liverpool seemed to be off and running.

The remainder of the first half was strewn with missed Liverpool opportunities, though.

Andy Carroll's 20th-minute goal was questionably called off by the linesman, who deemed the former Newcastle striker fouled Sunderland centerback Anton Ferdinand before slotting the ball home. Soon after, Adam sent a long-range strike on target, but it was held by Mignolet.

The last real chance of the half came in the 33rd minute by another new signing, Stewart Downing. The Liverpool attacker cut inside from the right wing onto his favored left foot and, following a mazy run past several Black Cats, rattled the crossbar with an effort from outside the box.

The Anfield faithful had much to be happy about heading into the break, as Liverpool controlled the first half with quality passing and dangerous deliveries from set pieces. But rather than build upon its solid first-half display, Liverpool struggled over the next 45 minutes.

The most important change in the match was Sunderland increasing its defensive pressure while Liverpool lowered its own.

Liverpool's early penalty attempt was a result of Suarez aggressively closing down Richardson, and Liverpool's pressing as a team allowed it to play most of the half on Sunderland's side of midfield, where it controlled the possession battle. However, Liverpool seemed to tire out at the end of the first half and struggled to maintain defensive energy throughout the rest of the match.

On the other side, Sunderland struggled to press as a team early, but then spent the entire second half aggressively closing down Liverpool's midfield. The Black Cats' central-midfield pairing of Lee Cattermole and Jack Colback did an excellent job of closing down the center of the park, causing Liverpool to struggle moving the ball vertically on the ground.

Liverpool was then forced to play horizontal passes out wide or put long vertical balls in the air. Neither option worked very well for the Reds, though.

Both John Flanagan, who turned in his first notably subpar performance for the senior team, and Jose Enrique struggled to get forward from their respective fullback positions. And meanwhile, the long balls forward only served to bring back bad memories from the Hodgson era.

Sunderland was not particularly impressive offensively, but its increased pressing allowed the club to turn the second half into a slow grind, limiting Liverpool's attacking threat.

With the second half being played on its own terms, Sunderland grabbed a goal through Seb Larsson's stunning volley in the 57th minute. Lost by Flanagan at the far post, Larsson sized up Ahmed Elmohamady's cross and sent the ball whistling by Pepe Reina and into the Liverpool goal, silencing the Kop in the process.

The rest of the match was a sterile collection of free kicks from non-threatening areas, as Liverpool looked too worn out to muster up a final assault.

Despite bringing on impact players in Dirk Kuyt and Raul Meireles, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was unable to coax an Opening Day win out of his squad and will be hoping for an improved display against Arsenal next Saturday in London.