Perhaps it was never going to last forever.
Maybe there was always going to come a time when Sunderland’s frankly astonishing home league record for 2025/2026 — that of remaining unbeaten against all visitors
to the Stadium of Light — would end, and as a Liverpool side possibly smarting from the manner of their late and frankly crazy defeat to Manchester City headed back down to Merseyside with a victory that may provide Arne Slot with some much-needed breathing room, did any of us really know how to feel?
Shocked? Maybe not. After all, despite a multitude of troubles concerning injuries and inconsistent form, this is an exceptional Liverpool side who remain a formidable opponent on any given day.
Saddened? Not necessarily.
This group of Sunderland players have worked so hard to preserve one of the proudest records in our recent history, and it would seem harsh to be overly critical.
In that case, why not settle for “slightly deflated” as a description of how we might’ve felt as a rain-lashed night ended with the sight of match-winner Virgil Van Dijk saluting the travelling Reds fans and Sunderland’s players forced to deal with something they’ve not yet had to confront: that of losing a league game in front of their own fans for the first time this season.
Will they respond strongly? You’d have to assume so.
These lads aren’t here to mess about and although the fortress finally being breached may be tough to accept, Régis Le Bris and his men have never shied away from a challenge and how we deal with this setback is sure to be fascinating. The standards have already been set and allowing them to slip now simply isn’t an option, even in the absence of Granit Xhaka.
The Lads didn’t play particularly badly on Wednesday night.
There was also no lack of effort and I can’t be critical of their attitude, but when up against the guile of Florian Wirtz, the canny movement and nous of Hugo Ektiké and the imposing defensive partnership of van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, Sunderland’s inability to play the killer pass or find a moment of individual inspiration ultimately proved their undoing — and van Dijk’s winner in the shape of a free header from a corner was a suitably sloppy way for the game to be decided.
Flashes of promise came in the shape of a lively performance from Nilson Angulo (a classic “exciting winger moves from another league and takes time to adjust”-style introduction to Wearside) and Dan Ballard often appeared to be on a one-man quest to keep the visitors at bay as he sought out green shirts and liver birds like a man possessed, but collectively, the Lads were short of their best and you do wonder whether we simply showed the visitors a tad too much respect as opposed to really opting to take the game to Slot’s merry men.
On the face of it, losses at the hands of last season’s champions and the side that many have tipped to assume their crown is by no means a disaster, but given the fluid nature of the league table, the congestion around the middle section and the ever-shifting dynamics of top flight football, it’s objectively true that Sunderland still have a little bit of work to do in order to avoid any nervy moments down the stretch towards the finishing line — and nobody should be castigated for highlighting it.
Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Oxford now feels like it could be a “play the fringe players and get minutes into their legs” affair (we should still have enough to see them off, however) and then it’s back to the league and a winnable clash with Fulham towards the back end of February — another glorious chance to take a big stride towards safety.
For now, we should rightly salute an efficient away performance by the champions, allow ourselves some time to reflect on a challenging two games, and ensure that we don’t start to lose faith.
It’s been a rough week and the players may be feeling jaded, but they’ve done some very good things up to now and by the time we run out at the Kassam on Saturday, they should be ready to start a new chapter — with the FA Cup possibly providing an ideal break from the rigours of the league.
Premier League
11/02/2026
Stadium of Light
Sunderland: 0
Liverpool: 1 (van Dijk 61’)
Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard; Alderete (Geertruida 80’), Reinildo, Hume (Talbi 80’); Sadiki, Diarra (Isidor 92’), Le Fée; Angulo (Mundle 80’), Brobbey
Subs Not Used: Ellborg, Cirkin, O’Nien, Rigg, Mayenda
Liverpool: Alisson, Endo (Gomez 69’), Van Dijk; Konate, Mac Allister, Gravenberch;Wirtz, Gakpo (Jones 75’), Salah; Ekitiké (Chiesa 88’)
Subs Not Used: Marmadashvili, Kerkez, Morrison, Ngumoha, Nyoni, Ramsay
