Forget the deceptively narrow scoreline, Brendan Rodger’s side could easily have won by three or four goals on a day when they were well on top long before Liam Bridcutt’s 49th-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence.
With Lazar Markovic excelling in the howling wind, Liverpool enhanced their hopes of a European push while Gus Poyet contemplated the reality of another painful struggle against relegation.
Good as the visitors were at times they still endured a few defensive wobbles and Sunderland supporters should be alarmed by their team’s failure to give the returning Simon Mignolet a proper workout in goal. Meanwhile theories that the Wearsiders are difficult to break would have been thoroughly deconstructed had Philippe Coutinho and company taken their chances.
Liverpool should have had a very early penalty but, for some mysterious reason, Craig Pawson and his fellow officials refused to buy into the notion that Wes Brown had blatantly brought Markovic down in the area.
Rodgers looked aggrieved but, within minutes, the visiting manager must have felt deeply relieved when a piece of first-class officiating on Pawson’s part enabled Markovic finally to score.
When Fabio Borini was fouled in the preamble to that goal, the referee played an excellent advantage, thereby permitting the ball to drop to Markovic. The Serb staggered his way into the area before punishing Costel Pantilimon courtesy of a slightly unorthodox shot directed through the Romanian’s legs.
With Steven Gerrard deployed in a more advanced role than usual during the final north-east leg of his farewell tour, Liverpool were largely in control. Rodgers’s 3-4-3 formation – featuring the impressively influential Gerrard on the right of an attacking trident also including Borini and Coutinho – seemed to be fazing a Sunderland team badly missing the injured Lee Cattermole.
Markovic was among those taking full advantage of the enforcer’s absence. Perhaps on a mission to ensure Gerrard did not capture quite all the post-match headlines he very nearly scored a second with a sumptuous right-foot volley in the wake of a half-cleared corner. All high-calibre technique, it was unleashed, acrobatically, in mid air rebounded off a post before Pantilimon tipped it away for another corner.
Simon Mignolet may have developed a vulnerable streak since swapping Sunderland for Liverpool but by neglecting to put him under any sort of real pressure, the Belgian’s former team allowed him a relaxing afternoon.
When Sebastian Larsson eventually whipped in a decent corner Mignolet punched it clear with the sort of commanding authority that used to be his Wearside trademark.
With Poyet’s side bereft of a similar sense of control they were booed off at half-time. How Sunderland fans must have wished Jordan Henderson and Borini were still wearing red and white stripes rather than Liverpool’s yellow away kit.
If locals were relieved to see Gerrard – apparently suffering from a tight leg muscle in a leg – replaced by Dejan Lovren in a half-time switch which provoked Emre Can’s relocation from Rodgers’s back three to midfield, any sense of euphoria proved short-lived.
Liam Bridcutt had spent the first period looking a very poor man’s Cattermole in the midfield anchoring role but he saw precious little of the remaining 45 minutes after being sent off for a second bookable offence.
With Bridcutt earlier shown yellow for fouling Gerrard, his subsequent push on Can gave Pawson little choice but to issue a red card. Sunderland’s cause appeared forlorn but, strangely, they upped the tempo and proceeded to enjoy their best patch of the game.
At its zenith Adam Johnson unleashed a fabulous swerving shot which bounced, tantalisingly, back from the underside of the bar with Mignolet surely beaten and Liverpool thankful to scramble the ball clear.
As the crowd screamed for Lovren to be dismissed following a horribly late tackle on Patrick van Aanholt which brought a yellow card, Poyet’s remaining players seemed to gain an extra half a yard of pace.
Not that they could sustain it. Indeed it was not long before Liverpool were drawing pretty passing triangles and dictating play once more. When Rodgers replaced Borini with Mario Balotelli life became even tougher for a home defence which struggled to handle the newcomer.