It was meant to be a comfortable home win, an opening day Anfield stroll against Sunderland. With Luis Suarez passed fit to play and the £50m midfield trio of Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson all making their Premier League bows for Liverpool, surely Kenny Dalglish’s side would pick up the three points and start the season with a bang?
Suarez opened the scoring- a twelfth minute header made amends for an earlier missed penalty- and had Fantasy managers ruing the decision to plump for the safety of Andy Carroll, in light of the Uruguayan’s recent three week break.
The first forty-five saw Liverpool dominant- Andy Carroll had a goal disallowed and Downing hit the bar as the Reds threatened to put the match beyond their visitors’ reach. For those of us with investment in Liverpool’s players, the second half looked promising..
Steve Bruce, however, had other ideas. Ten new signings over the close season suggests this is a side in transition but Sunderland showed a real battling quality that holds promise for the campaign ahead. A stunner from Seb Larsson -snapped up on a free transfer from Birmingham- stole the show after the interval as the Black Cats went toe to toe with their big-spending hosts and took home a well-deserved draw.
While Liverpool travel to the Emirates in Gameweek 2, Sunderland face a showdown with Newcastle at the Stadium of Light. If the Black Cats can replicate this type of determined performance in the Tyne-Wear derby, Alan Pardew may have more than just twitter accounts to keep him awake over the upcoming days.
