A Fading Figure of His Imperious Self - Liverpool's Captain Battles Waning Influence
The glaring attention that has centered around one global Liverpool great switched to another on Anfield's most recent frustrating night.
Mohamed Salah has come under fire for his struggles this season - and was relegated to the sidelines for the second straight Premier League game as the Black Cats visited on Wednesday.
But it was leader Virgil van Dijk, a peerless defensive bedrock as Liverpool have swept up the array of top honors, whose struggles took center stage during the stalemate.
The Experienced Pair and New Deals
Van Dijk, 34, and Salah, 33, both signed high-value two-year deals in the summer, with scarcely a Liverpool eyebrow raised at the idea of securing the futures to a veteran duo much nearer to the end of their careers than the start.
Indeed, it was a moment of optimism - but now there is no escaping the harsh truth that standards have dropped worryingly for both.
Backline Issues and A Major Overhaul
Liverpool have been exposed in defence ever since boss Arne Slot and the club's recruitment team began a £450m summer refit that has yet to prove anything like its worth.
Concurrently, Van Dijk has started to lose the sense of being untouchable he has carried since his £75m transfer from Southampton in January 2018.
Van Dijk has not been helped by fellow defender Ibrahima Konate's collapse in form, along with Milos Kerkez struggling to adapt at left-back. But the esteemed defender has also had significant difficulties, as highlighted by his desperate handball that resulted in a penalty in the heavyweight Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield.
An Incident That Symbolized The Problem
It was encapsulated in the 67th minute on Wednesday when Chemsdine Talbi gave Sunderland a merited lead, Van Dijk giving the ball away before standing off and averting his body on a 25-yard shot that hit him and drifted out of the reach of goalkeeper Alisson.
For a defender of such undoubted greatness, Van Dijk has an unusual habit of turning away on the ball, sometimes to Liverpool's detriment.
Bad luck at the end, yes, but it was a situation Van Dijk courted with his atypical failure to make a decisive move, Sunderland's Talbi seizing the moment.
"Van Dijk loses the ball and then he just retreats. It's the incorrect choice. He needs to go to the ball. Him not making the decision means that no one else knows what to do."
"Virgil Van Dijk last season was faultless. Every game he was imperious, but right now he's making mistakes and second-guessing himself."
The Numbers and A Lack of Command
As with Salah, a player of Van Dijk's pedigree must not be written off after securing two Premier Leagues, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two EFL Cups in a illustrious Liverpool career.
He has, though, looked a faded version of his usual commanding presence this season, with the worst recoveries per game during his Liverpool career, while tackles and interceptions are also down on last season.
And, while leadership should not be Van Dijk's sole responsibility alone in a Liverpool team brimming with experience, it was absent here. No-one was rousing a team that once again looked bewildered to take control by the scruff of the neck.
Van Dijk's subpar showing, which ended with him being used as the desperate measure of acting as an last-ditch attacker, was indicative of a deeply underwhelming Liverpool performance - which made Sunday's win at West Ham seem like the anomaly rather than the rule.
Liverpool Lacking Spark
Slot stayed with the side that halted a run of nine losses in 12 games at London Stadium, Salah once more starting on the sidelines.
The Egyptian emerged at the start of the second half as the Kop turned to him for inspiration. It never came, with £125m Alexander Isak also ineffective after scoring his first with his first league goal for Liverpool on Sunday.
Slot would have been under greater pressure had Florian Wirtz's 81st-minute shot not deflected in off Nordi Mukiele to set up what Liverpool hoped would be a grandstand finish.
Stoppage-time tension came - but at the other end. Liverpool were only avoided defeat in stoppage time when Federico Chiesa's superb tracking back allowed him to turn Sunderland substitute Wilson Isidor's shot off the line after he had dribbled past keeper Alisson.
Praise Deserved and Looking Ahead
Slot and his struggling title-holders ultimately had to settle for a draw knowing it could have been worse, with Alisson lucky to turn Trai Hume's shot onto the bar in the first half before Omar Alderete headed against the post after the interval.
Liverpool were sluggish, unimaginative and short on invention. Even the typical final push after the equaliser carried little conviction. Performances like this are the reason their defense of their crown has collapsed.
But huge credit for the Reds' struggles on Wednesday must be given to Sunderland, who are being reaping the benefits for a summer of clear intent in the transfer market, coupled with the excellent coaching of Regis le Bris.
The Black Cats were proactive, self-believing and dangerous.
Sunderland are now sixth in the Premier League with 23 points. It is telling of the manner in which they have embraced life in the Premier League that they will be unhappy they left Anfield without adding two more to their tally.
For Slot and Liverpool, it is a case of going back to basics.
