Liverpool’s four-match winning run came to a disappointing end as they were held to s 2-2 draw by Sunderland as the Reds missed the chance to close the gap on league leaders, Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp’s side took the lead in the 19th minute when Daniel Sturridge, who was given a rare start, found the back of the net with a header after Dejan Lovren’s mishit shot. However, the lead was short-lived as Jermain Defoe hit the equaliser from the spot after Ragnar Klavan fouled Didier Ndong in the box. The first half ended 1-1 and the Reds started emphatically in the second half as they were growing desperate to take the lead. Sadio Mane, playing his last game before leaving for Africa Cup of Nations, gave his team the deserved lead in the 72nd minute before conceding a penalty that allowed the Black Cats to equalise once again.
Liverpool are currently second in the table, five points behind Chelsea but the Blues can extend their lead to eight points if they beat Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Let us see how the Twitterati reacted to the match:
Shout out to everybody on earth for predicting Liverpool would drop points the second they had to play more than one game a week
— Rob (@Robgreeen1) January 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/AnfieldHQ/status/815965530695811072
https://twitter.com/Sennesation/status/815966130980405249
https://twitter.com/DrawtyDevil/status/815964668208566272
Liverpool draw. Chelsea 5 points clear and game in hand. Tottenham Hotspur, the Future of the Free World Depends on You
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) January 2, 2017
First-place Chelsea watching Liverpool squander two leads at Sunderland like… pic.twitter.com/4ILRyaYJjl
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/WelBeast/status/815964328721580032
Sturridge is injured again, two points dropped and now players are off to the African Cup of Nations. pic.twitter.com/J1SUPp87Mq
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) January 2, 2017
Sadio Mane is now Liverpool's top scorer in the Premier League this season with 9 goals. Signing of the season.
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) January 2, 2017
This is the game we'll look back at come end of the season when we lost the title by 2 points n say, if only Mane had kept his hand in. #LFC
— Awe Thee (@Appatakker) January 2, 2017