Excellent report by Chris Bascombe of The Daily Telegraph.
Liverpool 3 Sunderland 0: match reportWhatever medicine was administered to cure the sickness bug vexing Anfield over the past few days, the tonic had a reassuringly therapeutic effect. Brendan Rodgersâs Liverpool team have never looked healthier than when inflicting punishment on Sunderland on what proved a torrid night for the visitorsâ manager, Martin OâNeill.
Luis SuĂĄrez in mesmeric form; a second consecutive Premier League win (for only the second time this season); the multimillion-pound signing of a new striker; the offÂloading of another wage burden to West Ham; and the European places back within shooting distance. They will be bringing out the bunting if the new year brings more nights like this in this stadium.
SuĂĄrez and Raheem Sterling prolonged the festive celebrations with first-half goals against the North-East side, before the Uruguayan continued the masterclass with his 18th of the season in a comfortable 3-0 win.
Having shaken off the ailment that caused him to miss Liverpoolâs weekend win at Queens Park Rangers, Rodgers was positively beaming after a comfortable victory, particularly effusive on SuĂĄrez.
âI was talking with Harry Redknapp the day after our game at QPR and we said SuĂĄrez was a Messi-type character,â Rodgers said. âWhen I gave him a break at the start of the season he didnât want it. He wants to play two or three times a week to be on top of his game â one game a week is no good to him. He needs to be playing. You see the response you get from him. He is never in the treatment room and then he always comes out and performs. You see the response from him and the ways he works. He is thriving.â
SuĂĄrez is on course to become the first Liverpool striker to score 30 goals in a season since Robbie Fowler, but this was as complete and dominant a team performance as Rodgers has seen since taking over. It could easily have been six. Even Jordan Henderson was superb.
It was exactly what Rodgers needed because, as far as the Premier League goes, 2012 was barren for Liverpool. A meagre 46 points in the last calendar year exposed the absurdity of preÂtensions of a swift return to the Champions League. Only QPR and Aston Villa won less.
The reality is they are still in a battle to finish in the top six. In recent time even that has looked optimistic. Performances like this make it seem like it should be a formality. When you are watching SuĂĄrez, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger in full flow, the Kop phoenix looks ready to shake off those ashes.
Where there is heightened cause for hope is in the combined force of SuĂĄrez and the Anfield youth ranks. It was appropriate that this was the lethal combination for Liverpoolâs first goals of 2013.
Sterlingâs resolution was to add goals to his repertoire of step-overs and shimmies, and the second of his Liverpool career came on 19 minutes. SuĂĄrez pounced on Gerrardâs headed clearance before looping a defence-splitting pass, wrong-footing centre-halves Matt Kilgallon and Carlos CuĂ©llar. Sterling chipped the onrushing goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, a cool finish, and Liverpoolâs bright start during which Andre ÂWisdom and Stewart Downing also went close, was rewarded.
Sunderlandâs best opportunity passed on 22 minutes. James McClean somehow missed the target when sent clear in the box by Steven Fletcher. âWe needed to take that chance. We were well beaten,â said OâNeill.
Suårez punished the visitors on 26 minutes. Cuéllar tried to barge the South American off the ball but succeeded only in losing balance. That allowed the striker to run clear and finish with the outside of his right foot, Mignolet seemingly confounded by the audacity of the attempt.
SuĂĄrez added his second on 53 minutes, superbly judging an extraordinary 70-yard pass from Gerrard, allowing it to drift over his shoulder before nudging past Mignolet. Daniel Sturridge, signed for ÂŁ12 million on Wednesday and watching from the stands last night, joined the applause. He should prosper alongside SuĂĄrez.
It remains a period of transition, but Rodgers may also note that Liverpool now need only one more win to equal the number of home victories for all of last season â a reminder that he did not exactly take over a club on the march.
After rare back-to-back wins, Liverpool can set their sights on an even more elusive target. Three victories in succession, something they have not managed in the league yet. It should be no problem. They only have Manchester United (away) next.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/9767393/Liverpool-3-Sunderland-0-match-report.html