Florian Wirtz brutally denied first Liverpool strike as late equaliser against Sunderland goes down as own goal

Liverpool were staring down the barrel of another disappointing result on Wednesday night after falling behind to Sunderland courtesy of Chemsdine Talbi's effort. The defending for that goal was poor, with captain Virgil van Dijk giving the ball away and then backing off before the shot deflected off his side and past goalkeeper Alisson. The Reds once again looked short of confidence and failed to create too many opportunities against the resolute visitors, but a driving run from Curtis Jones and Wirtz's fine dribbling ability resulted in a desperately needed equaliser. 

It looked to be clean off Wirtz's boot on first viewing, but replays soon showed the former Bayer Leverkusen star had completely mis-kicked his effort, which was heading well wide of the goal. However, his side got the slice of luck they so urgently needed as the shot deflected off Mukiele and over Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs. Wirtz has been the subject of much criticism and mockery since arriving at Anfield in the summer, having failed to contribute much in the way of goals and assists since his £116 million ($155m) transfer to the English champions. This latest decision means the derision may continue until he finally gets a goal which cannot be debated, but there was no doubting he was still one of Liverpool's better performers on a night where few of them played with much freedom or creativity. That line of thought was echoed by former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher, who said on Sky Sports: "It feels like a real step back tonight to what you saw at West Ham at the weekend. They didn't look like scoring a goal at any moment of the game tonight. Missing the energy, zip, pace power. Really worrying."

After his extraordinary exploits with Leverkusen, few would have predicted Wirtz would still be waiting for his first Liverpool goal by December. He got an assist in his first competitive outing for the club in the Community Shield and has another couple in the Champions League, but there is clearly so much more to come from the silky 22-year-old. Even with the lucrative price tag, he has been thrown into a malfunctioning Liverpool side, with Mohamed Salah, so often their reliable figure in attack, looking well short of match sharpness after an incredible 2024-25 campaign. There have also been issues in the central striker position, with Alexander Isak being short of fitness after he forced through his record-breaking transfer to Merseyside from Newcastle, while Hugo Ekitike has had to battle back from injury worries after a hugely promising start to his Reds career.

It's only December but Liverpool already look out of the Premier League title race, with this latest result seeing them fall 11 points behind current leaders and favourites Arsenal. There is little time for Slot's squad to lick their wounds, however, with the famously hectic Christmastime schedule creeping up on teams throughout England. They next have a tough-looking trip to Leeds United, who will buoyed after earning a much-needed victory over Chelsea, and then there is a daunting journey to San Siro when they resume their Champions League campaign against Inter. The Merseysiders need more points if they are to progress to the round of 16 and avoid a European play-off, having suffered a damaging 4-1 home defeat to PSV Eindhoven the last time they played in the competition.