A NEW YEAR brings new hope for Liverpool. Resolutions were honoured at Anfield last night as Brendan Rodgers’ side kicked off 2013 in style with a resounding victory over Sunderland.
After an erratic December, when performances flipped from the sublime to the ridiculous, the Reds followed up their hammering of Queens Park Rangers with an equally dominant display.
They won with a swagger as the outstanding Luis Suarez delivered another match-winning double.
The Uruguayan now boasts 15 Premier League goals this term – the best haul by a Liverpool player in a season since Fernando Torres netted 18 in 2009/10.
With 18 in all competitions, Suarez has already surpassed his overall tally for the last campaign and if he can maintain these standards the coming months could be some ride.
Having laid on the opener for Raheem Sterling, Suarez took centre stage with two scintillating finishes.
Both of his goals were created by skipper Steven Gerrard and at times their understanding bordered on telepathic.
Sunderland were comprehensively outclassed and were fortunate to escape a much heavier beating.
Rodgers, who returned to the touchline after being forced to miss the trip to Loftus Road due to a virus, will hope his call for some consistency is finally being answered.
New £12million signing Daniel Sturridge, watching on from the directors’ box, nodded in approval at what he was treated to.
Last season the turn of the year saw Liverpool’s league campaign go off the rails. They won just five of their last 19 league matches.
However, with Sturridge set to provide more firepower and more new signings on the way there is good reason to believe that Rodgers’ side will only get stronger.
Andre Wisdom was handed his first start since November as the Reds boss made two changes following Sunday’s 3-0 rout of QPR. The teenager slotted in at right-back with Glen Johnson switching flanks in the absence of the injured Jose Enrique.
Lucas Leiva was restored to the line up in place of Joe Allen as Rodgers once again opted to rotate his holding midfielders.
It paid off with the Brazilian providing the platform for Gerrard and Jordan Henderson to get forward in support of the front three.
During a promising opening spell Wisdom fired over after being teed up by Gerrard. Suarez was clattered to the floor by Matt Kilgallon and Stewart Downing almost made the Black Cats pay.
His curling 25-yard free-kick was creeping inside the near post before Simon Mignolet clawed it behind.
The Reds’ pressure was rewarded with the breakthrough in the 19th minute. Gerrard rose to meet Mignolet’s punt forward and his header found Suarez.
The Uruguayan expertly held off the attentions of Kilgallon and hooked an inviting ball into Sterling’s path.
The one criticism of the teenager since he burst on to the big stage this season has been the lack of an end product.
However, this time there were no complaints as he burst through and executed the perfect lob over the keeper. It was Sterling’s first goal for three months and the outpouring of joy showed just what it meant to him.
Having firmly established control, the Reds almost sloppily relinquished their advantage. James McClean had time to pick his spot after latching on to Steven Fletcher’s pass but with just Pepe Reina to beat he dragged his shot wide.
It was a costly miss as in the 26th minute Liverpool doubled their lead. With such a high defensive line, Sunderland were playing Russian roulette and Liverpool cashed in.
Once again the opening was created by Gerrard’s hunger and desire. The captain made a loose ball his own in midfield and found Suarez down the right.
The Reds’ top scorer was cynically shoved by Carlos Cuellar but referee Phil Dowd played an excellent advantage.
Suarez stayed on his feet to make the most of it, charging into the box and bending a stunning finish into the bottom corner for his 17th goal of the season.
Liverpool were rampant and Henderson, who shone against his former club, delivered an inviting cross which Downing narrowly failed to convert at the back post.
Sunderland rallied towards the end of the first half but in the final third they were toothless.
Sebastian Larsson fired tamely at Reina, who then kept out Fletcher’s strike and reacted smartly to shovel the ball behind with Kilgallon waiting to pounce.
When the Reds counter-attacked at speed Sunderland struggled to contain them. Suarez and Henderson combined to find Downing, whose left-footed piledriver was deflected just wide by Craig Gardner.
Martin O’Neill took action at the interval as he replaced Stephane Sessegnon with Fraizer Campbell and went with two up front.
However, Liverpool maintained their stranglehold on proceedings and were soon out of sight.
Suarez’s delightful flick put Sterling through but this time he clipped his shot wide of the far post.
In the 52nd minute the Reds wrapped up the points thanks to their deadly duo.
Gerrard’s raking 50-yarder picked out Suarez’s darting run into a gaping hole between the two centre-backs and he finished with aplomb. It was Gerrard’s eighth league assist of the campaign.
Sterling made way for Allen before the hour mark with Henderson moving out to the right flank to accommodate the Welshman’s arrival.
The chances kept on coming. It took an acrobatic save from Mignolet to thwart the hosts after Glen Johnson diverted Gerrard’s volley goalwards.
Henderson, who was making his 50th league appearance for Liverpool, left to a fully deserved ovation as Suso came on.
Mignolet kept the score down, racing off his line to stop Suarez from completing a hat-trick.
Allen will still be wondering how he failed to open his account for the Reds. He appeared destined to score when the ball dropped kindly to him 12 yards out but Danny Rose diverted his shot over the bar.
Allen then side-footed wide from Johnson’s cross and when he did convert the flag was up because Downing had crossed from an offside position. Suso also had a goal chalked off as Sunderland were left chasing shadows.
There was another milestone for Jamie Carragher late on as he made his 493rd league appearance - overtaking Billy Liddell and moving to outright second place in the list of most league appearances for the club.
For Rodgers, this was the start to 2013 he had dreamed of.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina, Wisdom, Skrtel (Carragher 74), Agger, Johnson, Gerrard, Lucas, Henderson (Suso 67), Downing, Suarez, Sterling (Allen 57). Not used: Jones, Sahin, Shelvey, Robinson.
Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Mignolet, Gardner, Cuellar, Kilgallon, Rose (Vaughan 73), McClean, Sessegnon (Campbell 46), Johnson, Larsson (McFadden 62), Colback, Fletcher. Not used: Westwood, Bardsley, Wickham, Bramble.
REFEREE: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
ATTENDANCE: 44,228.
GOALS: Sterling 19, Suarez 26, Suarez 52.
BOOKINGS: McClean.
