Out-of-sorts Liverpool needed a Nordi Mukiele own goal to rescue a fortunate 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
The plucky visitors were on course for their first win at Anfield for 42 years before Florian Wirtz struck, thinking he had scored his first Premier League goal to draw his below-par side level, only for the strike to be latterly accredited to Mukiele.
Jamie Carragher accused Liverpool – without Mohamed Salah in the starting XI for the second time in four days – of “sleepwalking” through the game after Chemsdine Talbi scored a superb opener from range.
The hosts struggled to create again, suffering from imbalance and sloppiness, with Alexander Isak failing to make any sort of impact at the top end.
Salah was introduced at half-time to create some urgency and had touched the ball more times inside 15 minutes than Isak had managed all game, despite being unable to land a shot on target.
Substitute Wilson Isidor then had the chance to win it in stoppage time when released by goalkeeper Robin Roefs, who rounded Alisson superbly and was only denied by a retreating Federico Chiesa on the line.
“Any team that does the basics right have got a chance of winning against this Liverpool side,” Carragher concluded, with the Reds languishing eighth in the league, a point behind Sunderland in sixth.
“Sunderland were fantastic. What an addition to the Premier League. [Dan] Ballard and his mates at the back were fantastic.
“The Liverpool performance was so worrying. It feels like a real step backwards after winning at West Ham. They didn’t look like scoring a goal, I can’t remember any big chances.
“They are lacking energy, zip, pace and power. Really worrying.”
