Sturridge Hits 20th As Liverpool Put Pressure On Chelsea

Steven Gerrard’s free-kick broke Sunderland’s resistance late in the first half but it was Daniel Sturridge’s strike just after the break which had statisticians reaching for the history books before substitute Ki Sung-Yeung’s header made for a tense finish.

Sunderland’s tactic of leaving two men up the field at all times drastically cut the effectiveness of Liverpool’s two full-backs, key to providing width and getting in behind their opponents, and led to Philippe Coutinho in particular trying impossible passes through the Black Cats’ massed central ranks which failed to pay off.

However,Suarez had wriggled past Santiago Vergini and looked set to skip into the area only for the Argentinian to bring him down in the 39th minute.

Referee Kevin Friend decided former Liverpool full-back Andrea Dossena was close enough to not warrant showing the red card but Gerrard lessened the Anfield wrath on the official by dispatching the 25-yard free-kick into Vito Mannone’s top left-hand corner for the much anticipated opener.

Daniel Sturridge curled in his 20th league goal but, after Ki Sung-Yueng’s header, the hosts held on to move above Manchester City into second place.

Lee Cattermole hit the crossbar – a feat subsequently matched by Sturridge – before substitute Ki converted a corner with 14 minutes to go and, despite exerting some late pressure which saw John O’Shea miss a header from six yards.R