Luis Suarez teams up with Daniel Sturridge to outdo Sunderland

IN its predicament, bottom of the league and without a manager, what Sunderland needed overnight was a shot in the arm.

Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez celebrates scoring his team's third goal

IN its predicament, bottom of the league and without a manager, what Sunderland needed overnight was a shot in the arm.

What they did not need was to come up against the fearsome partnership of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, never mind to fall behind to a controversial goal that flew in off the former's bicep.

Sturridge's 28th-minute goal, which set Liverpool on course for a victory that took them up to second place behind Arsenal, summed up what has been a wretched season for Sunderland. There was incompetence in leaving Sturridge unmarked in the six-yard box and misfortune when it went unnoticed that he had scored - unintentionally, it seemed- with an arm. Bad defending plus bad luck? That combination does not bode well for the Wearside club.

There were moments to support Kevin Ball's belief that, as caretaker manager, he has stabilised the club since Paolo Di Canio's turbulent tenure was ended eight days ago, but a renewed sense of calm, contentment and focus was not going to be enough to contain the threat of Sturridge and Suarez. When Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, suggested afterwards that they could be the best front-line partnership in the Premier League at present, few counter-arguments came to mind.

It was Sunderland's misfortune to be the first team to face Sturridge and Suarez in a Premier League match since the latter was banned for ten matches after biting Branislav Ivanovic last April. In his comeback game against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup last Wednesday, Suarez did not seem to quite get back on the same wavelength as his strike partner, but yesterday they were tuned in perfectly, with Sturridge showing excellent awareness and precision to set up the Uruguay forward's two goals, the second scored in the final minutes after Emanuele Giaccherini had given Sunderland a glimmer of hope.

"I'm not sure there are two better in the league," Rodgers said. "There are some wonderful partnerships – (Robin) van Persie and (Wayne) Rooney are outstanding - but they are right up there with the best in the country." The contrast with the opposing forward line was stark. In six Premier League games this season, Sunderland have scored four goals - only one of them from a centre forward, Steven Fletcher. With the Scotland forward out until November with a shoulder injury, Jozy Altidore was a willing stand-in, but the American is yet to develop the sophistication to trouble Premier League defences.

All in all, things do not look terribly encouraging for Sunderland after the Di Canio experience. Lee Cattermole made his presence felt yesterday, having been out of favour under the Italian, and Adam Johnson looked brighter and more purposeful, but it is becoming apparent that this squad has lacked for quality as well as belief.

What will it take to reinvigorate this team? Gus Poyet? Tony Pulis? Ball on a permanent basis? For a club that needs a fresh start, yet whose immediate need is for an electrifying effect, it is a sadly familiar dilemma.

The Sturridge goal yesterday was a sickener for Sunderland, but Ball rightly preferred to concentrate on the fact that his players had somehow left the forward unmarked in the six-yard box from a dead-ball situation. Sturridge jumped, failed to connect with his head and the ball bounced in off his arm. While the laws of the game state that handball has to be deliberate, it was the type of action that, intentional or not, is rarely permitted when the officials see it.

Naturally enough, Rodgers preferred to focus on the quality of his team's second goal. It was a minor classic, starting from the moment that Steven Gerrard sprayed a 50-yard diagonal pass and Sturridge, on the right-hand side, brought it down as if he had Velcro on his boots, as his manager put it. Sturridge scooted around Carlos Cuellar and hit a perceptive cross that allowed Suarez to slide in and score a goal that he dedicated to his newborn son.

Liverpool looked entirely comfortable at that stage, but they eased off a little as half-time approached. Seven minutes into the second half, when Ki Sung Yeung struck a low shot from the edge of the penalty area, Simon Mignolet, the former Sunderland goalkeeper, got down well to make the save, but pushed the ball into the path of Giaccherini, who reduced the deficit to 2-1.

Rarely did Sunderland threaten an equalising goal. A third goal on the counter-attack looked more likely. Sure enough, from Mignolet's long throw in the 89th minute, Suarez released Sturridge, who took the outside route before picking out his team-mate with a low cross. Suarez swept the ball in to make it 3-1 and to send Liverpool up to second place. Whatever the Sunderland board's next step - and it would be better to take its time than to repeat the rash error of last spring - there is a long season ahead on Wearside.

The Times