This victory raised Liverpool’s tally to 42 points in sixth place, while Sunderland’s tally remained at 36 points in eleventh place.

Liverpool’s next match is against Brighton on Saturday, while Sunderland play Oxford United on Sunday in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Similar to the first-round encounter between the two teams which ended in a 1-1 draw, the match was largely even in terms of possession, chance creation and attacking attempts.

Liverpool had a golden opportunity to score in the 29th minute after Mohamed Salah sent in a cross that Sunderland’s defense failed to deal with, allowing the ball to reach German Florian Wirtz, but he hesitated in shooting it directly in front of the goal, 

In the second half, the performance continued at the same pace, with Liverpool making attempts met by sporadic attacks from Sunderland. However, the team of Dutch coach Arne Slott lacked the decisive attacking rhythm capable of threatening the home team’s goal more effectively.

In the 61st minute, Liverpool were awarded a corner kick, which Salah delivered perfectly onto the head of Van Dijk, who headed it into the net, giving his team the lead.

Liverpool were forced to substitute their Japanese player Wataru Endo in the 69th minute after he suffered a serious injury, before Slott brought on Englishman Curtis Jones in place of Dutchman Cody Gakpo in the 75th minute.

Despite this important victory, Liverpool are still outside the European qualification spots for next season, specifically the Champions League, as they need to achieve more victories to move up the standings and catch up with one of the qualifying spots.

The Reds are now three points behind their rivals Manchester United, who are in fourth place and could only manage a 1-1 

Asharq -Al Awsat