Final, 1-0 Liverpool: It’s all over at the Stadium of Light. Liverpool takes home all three points from its trip north.
Liverpool’s win was a somewhat nervy and quite narrow, but the result is more important than the performance in this case. Liverpool dominated the first half and took a deserved lead into the interval but struggled to build on its early gains, especially after Bridcutt’s dismissal in the second half. Sunderland threatened late, but Liverpool held firm.
Markovic’s game-winning goal highlights his a man-of-the-match performance.
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Mignolet and the Liverpool defense earned a rare shutout against a Sunderland team that clearly was lacking in direction and confidence.
The Reds remain in eighth place, but their 32 points is just four fewer than fourth-place Southampton has.
That’s all for now and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.
Postgame analysis of Liverpool-Sunderland >>
90th minute +1, 1-0 Liverpool: Buckley crosses from the right, but Mandron can’t direct his header on target.
90th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There will be three minutes of added time in the second half.
86th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland makes its final substitution. It’s a strange one, as Mandron replaces Johnson, who was the Black Cats’ best player in the second half.
83rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland is having a bad game.
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But Liverpool is clinging to a narrow lead against 10 Black Cats.
82nd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Henderson shoots a free kick well over Sunderland’s goal. It looks like the wind carried Henderson’s drive off target.
77th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland makes a double substitution. Buckley and Graham enter. Wickham and Giaccherini exit.
77th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Coutinho misses the target with a shot from 20 yards out.
74th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Johnson heads a corner kick down to O’Shea at the far post, but the Sunderland defender can’t connect with a spinning shot. Mignolet collects it in the end.
71st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Balotelli shrugs off Brown and shoots from a tight angle, but Pantilimon turns his effort away.
67th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Balotelli replaces Borini, as Liverpool makes its second substitution.
67th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Coutinho drags a shot wide from 20 yards out.
63rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Lovren heads Coutinho’s corner kick wide of Sunderland’s goal.
61st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Despite playing with one less player than Liverpool, Sunderland has gained advantages in possession, territory and initiative in recent minutes.
55th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Now the referee cautions Lovren for a late foul on van Aanholt.
54th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Henderson is cautioned for a foul on the lively Johnson.
52nd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Johnson hits a swerving shot off the crossbar, and Skrtel clears it out for a corner kick.
49th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee dismisses Bridcutt, who tripped Can on the sideline. Bridcutt receives his second yellow card, his game is over, and Sunderland now is down to 10 men.
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Both of Bridcutt’s bookings were soft fouls. The referee had a nightmare in the first half and is showing no signs of improving.
46th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Markovic shoots wide from the edge of Sunderland’s penalty area.
46th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The second half is underway.
Liverpool made one change at halftime, replacing Gerrard with Lovren.
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Henderson takes the captain’s arm-band, Can moves forward into the midfield, and Lovren takes up residence in defense.
Halftime, 1-0 Liverpool: That’s the end of the first half. Liverpool leads by one.
The good news is Liverpool is ahead at the break. The bad news is Liverpool only leads by one. The Reds were the better team from start to finish in the first half and easily could be up by three or four goals. Markovic’s place on the score-sheet is just rewards for his bright first half.
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Gerrard and Borini could have extended Liverpool’s lead, but they missed a number of promising scoring chances.
Sunderland’s first-half performance doesn’t suggest the hosts will make Liverpool pay for not padding its lead. Things can change in the second half. They likely will, as Poyet and the home fans will not accept another 45 minutes of flat, uninspired soccer.
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45th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There will be two minutes of added time in the first half.
44th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Can passes directly to Borini, who rounds the goalkeeper but shoots into the side netting. It’s another missed opportunity for Liverpool.
39th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Gerrard tests Pantilimon with a low shot from 18 yards out, but the Sunderland goalkeeper saves it without much effort.
38th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Gerrard hits the side netting with a powerful, angled shot from 20 yards out.
36th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee cautions Coutinho for obstructing Sunderland’s free kick.
The official now has doled out four yellow cards in the last 20 minutes.
35th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Bridcutt fouls Gerrard near the halfway line, and the referee cautions the Sunderland midfielder.
30th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Markovic nearly scores with an acrobatic scissor-kick, but it hits the post, bounces off Pantilimon and goes out for a corner kick.
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28th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Gerrard shoots the ensuing free kick on goal, but Pantilimon saves it.
27th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee cautions Vergini for a foul on Moreno.
24th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The Reds create an opening with a corner-kick routine, but Gerrard ultimately scuffs his shot.
24th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Gerrard’s rolling shot from 20 yards out takes a deflection and goes out for a corner kick.
17th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee cautions Borini for a cynical foul on Giaccherini.
16th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland has a good spell of possession in Liverpool’s half as it looks to cancel out Markovic’s goal.
14th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Larsson tamely shoots a free kick on goal. Mignolet catches it easily.
13th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Sunderland will be disappointed at conceding an early goal and its ongoing defensive struggles at home.
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Ninth minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Markovic scores. The Reds are up early.
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Gerrard passed to Borini at the top of Sunderland’s penalty area. Borini then passed to Markovic, who held off van Aanholt and clipped his shot over Pantilimon from close range.
It’s Markovic’s first Premier League goal and second in all competitions for Liverpool.
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Eighth minute, 0-0: The game has settled into a slow tempo amid the windy conditions in Sunderland. The teams seem content to maintain possession in the back or the midfield but are showing little forward thrust.
Third minute, 0-0: Liverpool has a penalty appeal after Brown appeared to trip Markovic inside Sunderland’s penalty area, but the referee declines the Reds’ appeals. There’s early controversy.
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Kickoff: Liverpool-Sunderland is underway at the Stadium of Light.
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Pregame: Raheem Sterling misses his second game in a row, following his absence in Monday’s win over Wimbledon.
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Meanwhile, Sunderland is without two regular strikers.
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Pregame: Here are the lineups:
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet (22), goalkeeper
Mamadou Sakho (17), center back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Emre Can (23), center back
Lucas Leiva (21), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Alberto Moreno (18), midfielder
Lazar Markovic (50), midfielder
Philippe Coutinho (10), forward
Steven Gerrard (8), forward
Fabio Borini (29), striker
Substitutes
Danny Ward (52), goalkeeper
Jose Enrique (3), defender
Dejan Lovren (6), defender
Javier Manquillo (19), defender
Jordan Rossiter (46), midfielder
Mario Balotelli (45), striker
Rickie Lambert (9), striker
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Sunderland
Costel Pantilimon (1), goalkeeper
Patrick van Aanholt (3), left back
Wes Brown (5), center back
John O’Shea (16), center back
Santiago Vergini (27), right back
Liam Bridcutt (4), midfielder
Adam Johnson (11), midfielder
Jordi Gomez (14), midfielder
Sebastian Larsson (7), midfielder
Emanuele Giaccherini (23), midfielder
Conor Wickham (10), striker
Substitutes
Vito Mannone (25), goalkeeper
Bill Jones (2), defender
Ricky Alvarez (20), midfielder
Mikael Mandron (38), midfielder
Liam Agnew (42), midfielder
Will Buckley (30), forward
Danny Graham (19), forward
7:30 a.m. ET: Liverpool’s road to potential redemption takes it north Saturday when it visits Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Liverpool and Sunderland both are trying to climb the Premier League standings and hit their targets for the 2014-15 season. Liverpool’s sights still are set firmly on a top-four finish, while Sunderland aims to build on last season’s great escape from the relegation trap and finish in or near the top half of the standings. The teams have plenty of work to do in their respective pursuits.
Liverpool currently sits in eighth place with 29 points from 20 games. The Reds’ lowly position is cause for concern, but they only have lost once in their last eight Premier League games (four wins and three draws). If the Reds are to start another winning run, they will need Jordan Henderson and Simon Mignolet to be at their best against their former team. Injuries will prevent regulars Adam Lallana and Glen Johnson from playing against Sunderland.
Sunderland currently occupies 14th place in the standings with 20 points from 20 games. But Sunderland is stuck in a rut, having one just once in its last 10 Premier League games. Gus Poyet’s players have been the Premier League’s draw specialists this term. 11 of Sunderland’s 20 Premier League games have ended in stalemates — by far the most in England’s top flight.
The teams played to goal-less draw when they last met (a Premier League game on Dec. 6, 2014 at Anfield). Three points and bragging rights are up for grabs Saturday.
Liverpool-Sunderland kicks off at 7:45 a.m. Join us right here for all the action from the Stadium of Light.
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Photo via LiverpoolFC.com
