Liverpool were forced to settle for their first draw of the Premier League season after a frustrating 1–1 result against newly promoted Sunderland at Anfield last night. Despite dominating long spells of the match, the Reds failed to convert their chances and were ultimately denied maximum points by a combination of resolute defending and an unfortunate late own goal.
Sunderland stunned the home crowd in the 67th minute when C. Talbi produced a composed finish to give the visitors a surprise lead. The goal came from one of Sunderland’s rare attacking moves, but it was enough to momentarily silence Anfield and put pressure on Liverpool to respond.
The Reds pushed forward relentlessly, and their breakthrough finally arrived in the 81st minute, though not in the way they would have hoped. The Premier League later confirmed that Liverpool’s equaliser was an own goal by Nordi Mukiele, ruling out what many initially believed to be a goal credited to one of Liverpool’s attackers. The deflection wrong-footed the Sunderland goalkeeper, bringing Liverpool back on level terms but denying them the dramatic winner they were chasing.
