Sunderland v Liverpool - as it happened

In the meantime here's some match pointers: • Sunderland have scored only three goals in their last nine league games against Liverpool, all of them by the now departed Darren Bent • Liverpool have won on four of their last six visits to Sunderland in the top flight • Sunderland have lost 13 points this season from goals scored in the 80th minute or later – more than any other side • Liverpool have lost all three of their Premier League games directly following a Europa League match • Steed Malbranque has had more shots without scoring (31) than any other player Marcus will be here from 1pm. Preamble . Good afternoon everyone. The last time Liverpool visited Wearside they were, of course, defeated by a beach ball. What will it be this time? A polo ball? The Twickenham fox? An aardvark ? Titus Bramble? But which Liverpool will turn up? Will it be the one that outplayed Manchester United or the one that suffered intolerably in the two ties against Braga? Have Liverpool gone from being a two-man team (Gerrard and Torres) to a two-man team (Gerrard and Suarez) in a matter of weeks? Today may bring us some clues. Sunderland are only four points behind Liverpool and have lost only three out of 14 league games at the Stadium of Light this season. The Sunderland manager, Steve Bruce, has this week been talking about finishing above Liverpool so he'll be looking for a win today. However, Sunderland are also just six points off the relegation zone and despite being in ninth, this Black Cats forum is discussing the chances of Bruce's team going down (although it then moves on to a much happier subject: the chances of Newcastle going down...). It just shows what a crazy, crazy season this is. The teams are in: Sunderland Mignolet, Ferdinand, Bramble, Mensah, Bardsley, Sessegnon, Henderson, Muntari, Richardson, Welbeck, Gyan. Subs Gordon, Zenden, Malbranque, Elmohamady, Cattermole, Colback, Onuoha. Liverpool Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Kuyt, Meireles, Lucas, Spearing, Carroll, Suarez. Subs Gulacsi, Cole, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Ngog, Poulsen, Wilson. Referee Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) So Liverpool's £57.8m strike duo Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez (in for Joe Cole) start together for the first time while Daniel Agger and Jay Spearing have come in for Danny Wilson and Maxi Rodriguez. Sunderland, meanwhile, have also good news up front with Danny Welbeck starting for the first time since 5 January following his knee injury. Steed Malbranque drops to the bench and he is joined there by a fit-again Lee Cattermole. Early emails/thoughts: Max writes: "Judging from your match pointers I'll predict the game will end up 1-1. The scorers: Jamie Carragher (Own goal) and Suarez in the 84th minute." 1-1 doesn't seem implausible at all. Ian Copestake writes: "Unless Liverpool sign Messi AND Luke Young in the summer our beach ball repelling 'keeper will be off to play for the Mancs. This is less a rumour than a recurring nightmare." Well, I think Liverpool would have to sign Young first for Messi to then follow... And so to the big question: Will Asamoah Gyan, John Mensah and Sulley Muntari shake Luis Suarez's hand? It's the biggest handshake-gate since John Terry v Wayne Bridge (although with a slightly less frantic media build-up...). Then it was Vanessa Perroncel, now it is a handball on the goalline in a World Cup quarter-final ... To make matters worse it was Gyan who missed the penalty in the last minute of extra-time. What will the three Ghana players do? Watch this space. There are suggestions in my email inbox that Gerrard is no longer part of the two-man partnership Liverpool are relying on. It should, says Michael Annand, be Suarez and Meireles judging by the last few months. Danny Murphy in the Sky Studio, meanwhile, seems excited about the Suarez-Carroll partnership. Maybe he didn't watch Carroll against Braga on Thursday... It looks like Liverpool will line up in a 4-4-2 formation with Meireles on the left. Sunderland are also expected to play 4-4-2 and, after some weird footage of Andriy Voronin celebrating in a Liverpool shirt (during a game against Sunderland), Sky take a break for some ads. We must be close to kick-off now. Paul Foy has an interesting thought before the minute's silence for the people suffering in Japan: "Nobody else thinking it'll be a 4-2-3-1 from Liverpool. Suarez and Kuyt on the wings and Meireles in the hole?" Now quiet please. 1 min And we're off. A cracking atmosphere (by the sounds of it...) at Stadium of Light and Sunderland lump the ball forward. Daniel Agger, playing with Martin Skrtel in central defence, clears. 2 min Agger is put under a lot of pressure by Jordan Henderson by the corner flag and the Dane has to put the ball out for a throw-in. Welbeck then nearly creates an opening. 5 min Liverpool get to borrow the ball for the first time in this game and win a corner. Meireles takes the set piece, finds Carroll (of course) and Kuyt squanders a decent chance 6 min Another corner for Liverpool and this time Kuyt is unmarked. His header is poor though and Simon Mignolet can breathe easily as the ball sails over the bar. 7 min It's a good opening to the game and both teams have started purposefully. Sunderland go forward now but Agger can clear the long ball and Glen Johnson then makes sure that Anton Ferdinand cannot cross the ball. 10 min Sunderland up the tempo and are winning most of the second balls. Welbeck does well in midfield but Muntari then loses the ball and Liverpool can move up their defensive line. Alix writes: "Andy Carroll is the new Chris Sutton. Discuss." 12 min Sessegnon is looking lively and threads through a nice ball for Ferdinand - playing at left-back - but the defender's cross is too close to Pepe Reina, who gathers easily. 13 min Carroll is - as you'd expect - booed every time he gets the ball (well, in fact, it is every time he gets close to the ball as he has hardly had any touches yet). But the No9 has yet to lose against Sunderland in three matches. 14 min Suarez wins a free-kick in a good position down the right but when Meireles sends in the cross, Agger is penalised for a shove. 16 min Rob Moline emails as Sky tells me that Sunderland have had 67 percent of possession so far. Rob, who I presume is an Arsenal fan, says: "The last time Liverpool visited Wearside they were, of course, defeated by a beach ball. What will it be this time? Two things you can say for certain won't defeat Liverpool: A Szczesny-Koscielny combination. An Almunia-Squillaci combination." 17 min Gyan and Welbeck combine beautifully down the left but the cross avoids everyone by a couple of inches. That move had everything (well, a back-heel at least). Liverpool then counterattacks but Carroll passes to Spearing rather than Suarez and that's that. Suarez did not look to happy with that decision 19 min And that is the end of Sulley Muntari's afternoon (as far as football playing is concerned). The Inter player, on loan at the Stadium of Light, is taken off and Bruce has to put on Lee Cattermole, who has not played for three months. He comes on and takes the armband straight away. 21 min What a defensive shambles from Sunderland. Mignolet keeps the ball in when he didn't need to. Meireles pounces but only wins a corner, which Liverpool then waste. 22 min More trouble for Sunderland. Kieran Richardson is now coming off. He is unable to continue. Two subs in the first 22 mins for the Black Cats. Steed Malbranque comes on. 23 min Now what will this mean for Sunderland? Will Bruce rejig? Josh in São Paulo, meanwhile, is probably surrounded by too many beautiful Brazilian people as he writes: "Is it just me, or does Jay Spearing look like an overgrown British infant?" 25 min Sunderland keep pressing. The changes has not disrupted them so far. Liverpool look a bit narrow with Meireles on the left. He is drifting in a lot. 27 min Sunderland look by far the most dangerous team. Gyan and Welbeck are linking really well and the Bardsley-Malbranque combo on the left is causing Jamie Carragher some problems. 29 min Sunderland attack again, this time on the right. Sessegnon plays a lovely ball to Henderson but the move peters out with Carragher able to block Welbeck when the ball finally comes into the penalty area. 30 min Half an hour gone. Time to reflect. Sunderland have had an awful lot of possession but Reina has not had to make a proper save yet. Liverpool, meanwhile, look disjointed. Carroll is having a bad afternoon. 31 min Penalty for Liverpool. But as I say that John Mensah is caught napping. Jay Spearing is then brought down by Mensah. Referee says free-kick first, then changes his mind. It's a pen and Dirk Kuyt is going to take it. Bruce is furious. Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool (Kuyt, 33pen) Kuyt sends Mignolet the wrong way and gives Liverpool the lead. A good penalty but that is very, very harsh on Sunderland. 35 min So let's recap: Kevin Friend blew his whistle after Mensah brought down Spearing. He thought it was outside the area. The linesman then raises his flag (well he put it to his chest actually) and says it is a penalty - from about 30 yards away. Remarkable. 37 min Liverpool have woken up. Sunderland are probably too upset about the penalty to focus on the game at the moment. Mignolet makes a great, one-handed save from Suarez's left-footed volley from inside the area. Carroll then fails to get enough power on his follow-up header. 39 min Titus Bramble goes in two-footed on a Liverpool player, moments after Cattermole had done the same. There are some angry Sunderland players out there - and apoplectic manager. They must, however, keep their composure to avoid any bookings or, worse, a sending-off. Remember that Sunderland have had to make two substitutions already. 41 min Several emails about handshake-gate. Did they shake hands? Did they not? Hmm, I knew I shouldn't have mentioned it. I missed it. And with that vanishes my aim of providing a full coverage with every little detail of this game. Should we just assume they shook hands (and if they didn't it will soon be on YouTube anyway). Or Twitter. Or babelfish translate. Or whatever young people use these days. 44 min Cattermole is booked. It was only a matter of time, although this tackle on Suarez was pretty harmless. The partnership between Carroll and Suarez, by the way, has not worked so far. I am not sure they have found each other once so far. 45 min Three minutes of added-on time at the end of the first half. Cattermole is still having a go at ref Friend for the yellow by the way. He needs to be careful. Half-time Liverpool are 1-0 up at the Stadium of Light. They are fortunate to lead. Sunderland have had most of the possession and the penalty awarded to Liverpool was for a foul outside the area. Spearing has played well for Liverpool. No one else standing out for the visitors. Gyan and Welbeck have combined well for Bruce's side at times but without troubling Reina. Half-time Time to catch up on some emails with some valid thoughts. Paul McDevitt says: "If things stay this way, for all Liverpool's problems, they will be rightnon the heels of Spurs with a home game against them. Yet Spurs continue to be lauded. Mind you, I would love to see Spurs thrash Real". I think Harry would take winning the Champions League and finishing sixth. Half-time Chris Lord is probably not a Sunderland fan: "Obviously it isn't a sending off in the rules, but isn't the real purpose of the "clear goalscoring opportunity" rule to stop fouls like Mensah's? He got caught out, and decided to clear out the forward just outside the penalty area exactly because he thought it was a good chance to score. That seems much more cynical and deserving of a red that one of those accidental coming togethers that ruin games most weeks." Half-time Can I also just point everyone in the direction of the pic at the top of this article. It looks pretty conclusive, wouldn't you say? I wonder how happy Kevin Friend is with his linesman, who made him change his initial call? Half-time Sympathy for Sunderland does seem in somewhat short supply out there I must say. This Barry Webb (another obvious Arsenal supporter): "Hi. The continual reference by the commentators to the poor decision by the AR should cast their somewhat minimal minds back a week when Arsenal where denied a obvious penalty (and sending off for Bramble) and a incorrect offside call against Arshavin. Bruce should also understand the Karmic principle of "Things even out over the season"." Half-time Hassan Maan is unimpressed, to say the least, by the commentating on offer on Sky. "Who is this moron on sky commentating? He says that the challenge was on the line and it was the correct decision!!! Is the man blind? Gray might have had his faults (could Messi do it on a cold night in Stoke?) but at least he had the important attribute, when it comes to providing insight into the game, of being able to see." A fair point, some might say, although I can't see the "Gray-come-back-to-Sky" bandwagon to gather much pace. How is he doing over on TalkSport by the way? Has anyone been listening? 46 min And it is the start of the second half. And I don't think either team have made any changes. 47 min Sunderland start the second half as they played most of the first, pegging Liverpool back. But Gyan runs into a wall consisting of three Liverpool defenders and Skrtel then shows off some surprising skills to bring down a long ball as if he were Xavi Hernandez. The subsequent clearance shows he is not Xavi Hernandez. 48 min Stephane Sessegnon is showing some impressing touches here at the start of the second half. He is an interesting character I must say. The Benin international forced a move to Sunderland by boycotting training at PSG. If you want to read more about ... Benin, here is your link . Formerly known as Dahomey, apparently. Didn't know that. Great name that, Dahomey. Why change that? 51 mins Liverpool win a corner. Meireles sends the ball in and, finally, sets up Carroll. It is a free header, it is on goal ... but Cattermole is on hand to clear off the line. Very close to 2-0. Carroll should have scored there. 54 min Bardsley gallops down the left, turns inside and plays the ball into ... Skrtel. Liverpool launch a counterattack and Meireles wastes a good chance. The angle wasn't great but he should have done better. But hang on. Friend has brought play back. he has awarded a Liverpool free-kick. But that was about 15 mins ago? Well, a free-kick for Liverpool in a good position it is. 56 min Suarez just misses the target. It is a very good effort. Mignolet would probably have been beaten but the Uruguayan's low effort goes just wide of the post. 56 min End-to-end stuff now. Malbranque shows why he is Lily Allen's favourite footballer (I presume it is for his touch) and skips a challenge on the edge of the Liverpool box. He curls his shot just wide though. 58 mins Can Liverpool avoid just hoofing long balls towards Carroll. Is Carroll really a Liverpool player (well he is playing in their No9 so I presume so)? These are some of the questions appearing in my inbox as Meireles's right-footed cross evades everyone in the box. Here are Rowan Blades's thoughts: "Seems Carroll was third choice on transfer deadline day(behind gomez, llorente and some other tall fellow). He encourages hoof ball because we do not have any good crossers playing apart from raul and johnson. if he is going to do well at liverpool, we will need to purchase some real quality on the wings. turan/young plus a left back please." 60 min Sunderland, incredibly, are preparing to make their third substitution. That is surely a gamble with half an hour to go, especially as it may be Elmohamady who is coming on. 61 min Was Welbeck injured? He must have been, surely? Let's see if Sky's pitchside commentator tells us. 62 mins Carroll's touch has been poor today. He is first to Lucas Leiva's precise long ball but the ball bounces off his knee and Sunderland can clear. 63 mins Carroll again gives the ball away. Sunderland push forward and Gyan cuts inside from the left. He finds Henderson but the young midfielder can only lift his shot well wide and high. Lucas, meanwhile, has been booked for persistent fouling. Surely a mistake. 65 mins Two Sunderland corners in quick succession and they appeal for a handball on the first one. The ball seems to have hit Johnson's chest though. But it is easy to see Sunderland appealing for all sorts of incidents considering what happened in the first half. 68 mins I am not the only one who has been impressed with £35m Carroll today. Nath Jones emails as Suarez is booked for dissent: "Carroll has been awful. Are you sure it's not Andriy Voronin with dyed hair?" 68 mins Kuyt puts half of his studs on Bardsley's right foot (the remaining studs are on his other boot) and is deservedly booked. 69 mins Sam Humphrey has been doing some research (or looked on Wikipedia): "Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey existed from 1960 to 1975. In 1975, the country was re-named "The People's Republic of Benin" after the Bight of Benin (not the unrelated historical Kingdom of Benin) since "Benin," unlike "Dahomey," was deemed politically neutral for all ethnic groups in the state." 71 min Gyan robs the ball off Spearing and puts in a cross with the outside of his boot but it is overhit and it is a wasted chance. Carroll, by the way, should probably come off. He has just mislaid another pass. 72 min Meireles, who has had a quiet game, is offside and there is David Ngog! He is coming on for ... Andy Carroll. Maybe the big man is rusty. Time will tell. 74 min And it is nearly 2-0 for Liverpool. Spearing, of all people, picks up the ball just outside the box and unleashes (yes, unleashes!) a rocket of a shot. Mignolet dives to his right to make a great save. Meireles then wastes the corner. 76 min Gyan takes a tumble in the penalty area but does not get a penalty kick for his theatrics. And neither should he either. Agger is furious with the Sunderland forward. Sunderland 0-2 Liverpool (Suarez, 77) What a goal by the Uruguayan! He picks up a short Kuyt pass on the byline and advances, and advances and, surely he must pass here... no, he doesn't. He shoots from an impossible angle - and scores. Mignolet was expecting a cross! 79 min That is a great strike. Maybe I am not doing it justice. What an impact Suarez has had. I thought £22.8m seemed a lot of money to spend on a player who had flourished in the Eredivisie (Afonso Alves did too after all) but so far he has proved a sensational buy. 81 mins Some handbags here between Gyan and Skrtel. Gyan, remarkable, has put his finger up Skrtel's nostril. Friend makes them friends again. 82 mins Sending off: John Mensah is sent off. A straight red. The linesman flags again and although it is a free-kick, a straight red seems to be very harsh. He did bring Suarez down but it was a long way away from goal. 83 min Suarez takes the free-kick but it is wild. It is high. It is no trouble for Mignolet. Meireles, meanwhile, is taken off and replaced by Maxi, who, I learned today, is nicknamed "the beast". 86 mins This has gone from bad to worse for Sunderland. Liverpool are now in complete control. Lee Cattermole tests Reina from 30 yards but it would take something special to beat the Spaniard from that distance. That was a good strike, but nothing special. 89 min Suarez is down injured and is having to come off. He is holding his hamstring but it doesn't look too serious. Joe Cole is on. 90 min I think the substitution was just precautionary. I would be very surprised if Suarez misses a Liverpool game. Funnily enough, he could miss out on whomever Uruguay are playing in the internationals. 92 min Liverpool are just keeping the ball now. Dalglish controls the ball (don't worry, he is off the pitch, otherwise it would be even worse for Sunderland judging by his still immaculate technique.) Full time Kevin Friend blows the whistle for full time. It has been an eventful game and sadly, the penalty decision was key. it is impossible to say how the match would have panned out if Liverpool had only got a free-kick there. As it is, Liverpool win 2-0 to move within four points of Tottenham, although the have played a game more. And the emails keep coming. Apart from the ones pointing out that Carroll may well improve when is playing more regularly (fair point) there is this one from Milton. "I don't know exactly what he is on about but I'll be watching the replays: Interesting tactic by Liverpool. Sunderland put ball into touch near their left corner flag just alongside the assistant referee. Kuyt then carries ball 10 yards back along the line and puts it down. No objection from assistant ref. Throw taken from there - again with no objection from assist ref _and Sureaze can now work the ball through the ten yard space." Full time And so Sunderland's poor form continues. They are, as they were this morning, only six points off the relegation zone. That draw against Arsenal was maybe just a false dawn. And I will leave you with stat of the day from the Stadium of Light: Attempts: Sunderland 2 Liverpool 17 Next up is Chelsea v Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, which you can follow here with Gregg Roughley.