Liverpool secured a point against Sunderland with a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Wednesday, despite a sluggish display. This result felt like a setback after their promising 2-0 win over West Ham United last weekend.
Florian Wirtz’s deflected goal in the 81st minute prevented what could have been a disastrous 10th loss in their last 14 matches across all competitions, in a season marked by inconsistency for Arne Slot’s team.
“Too often this season, we don’t concede many chances, but the ones we do go in,” a stern Slot told the BBC. “We weren’t fortunate enough to secure the win, but in recent weeks, we likely would have lost this match, so that’s a positive.”
Slot highlighted a recurring problem for the champions: a lack of cutting edge.
“We’ve played 14 games now and haven’t scored enough from open play or set pieces,” he stated.
The Dutchman’s frustration highlights a troubling pattern for Liverpool, who controlled possession and completed twice as many passes as Sunderland, yet rarely posed a threat to the visitors’ goal until Wirtz’s deflection.
“Similar to the weekend against West Ham, we didn’t concede much and didn’t create much,” Slot told Sky Sports. “Today, we were very unlucky with the goal we conceded—a deflection that could have gone anywhere but unfortunately went in.
“We tried everything to find a winner, but in the end, we were also lucky because they had a one-on-one with (goalkeeper) Alisson.”
Sunderland’s fans were ecstatic when Wilson Isidor seemed poised to score in added time, rounding Alisson, but Federico Chiesa cleared his shot off the line.
“That’s what you want from a player, to give everything in a situation,” Slot said about Chiesa’s clearance. “Just keep running and cleared the ball off the line. Another game where we scored fewer goals than we could have, and the opponents capitalized on their chances.”
