It was the 75th minute at Anfield and Liverpool found themselves in familiar territory, with the match at a stalemate and Sunderland sitting deep with every man behind the ball, the game looked destined for another 0-0. Then Divock Origi stepped up, took the ball on the right hand side of the penalty area and curled the ball past Pickford to send Anfield ecstatic. Relief an understatement. Milner went on to put the game past Sunderland's reach converting a penalty after N'dong tripped Mane after he burst through on goal. Liverpool temporarily return to the Premier League summit after a frustrating yet rewarding 90 minutes at Anfield.
Coutinho Scare
Coutinho turns in at the byline and both him and Kone connect with the ball at the same time, at first seemed like a standard 50/50 but the Brazilian remained on the ground. After a couple of minutes of treatment from the medical team, out came the stretcher and he was brought off the field with his right foot in a cast. At match speed it looked like there was nothing to it just an impact injury and after a minute or two to recover from the sting, you run it off. But replays show that at the moment of impact Coutinho's foot snaps back as the ball flies away. The injury certainly wasn't detrimental but unlucky for Liverpool. Klopp revealed in his post-match conference "We have to wait for the scan.
When I saw him at half-time he said there was no pain". Hopefully for Liverpool fans this was just an impact injury and we will see the Brazilian talisman fit and ready for Bournemouth. It is worrying to have Coutinho potentially out for a couple of games with Sturridge pulling out of today's game with a calf injury and Danny Ings out for the season.
However Klopp's summer recruitment puts his side in a better position than the side he inherited from last season with increased squad depth allowing Liverpool to be able to cope with the potential lose of Coutinho. But now is a time to wait and see for the Brazilian with James Pearce revealing on his Twitter that he was spotted leaving Anfield on crutches.
Origi Shines
Every cloud has a silver lining as Divock Origi replaced the injured Coutinho in the 34th minute. From the get go the Belgian looked like a Jurgen Klopp player, closing down the opposition and consistently using a blend of both strength and pace to get his team on the attack every time he was on the ball. Origi has only had sporadic substitute appearances this season to make his mark after an impressive first season which was ended by Funes Mori's horror tackle in the Merseyside Derby; the last time that Origi scored a Premier League goal for the club. On an afternoon where the remaining two of the original attacking trio, Firmino and Mane failed to perform, Origi provided an energetic performance and produced a fantastic goal out of nothing.
After Klopp's touchline antics encouraged the Anfield faithful to create an atmosphere that would cause a reaction from the players. Now with Coutinho potentially facing a spell on the sidelines it is time for Origi to take his chance, he has always been known as one for the future since his arrival from Lille in 2014. But if Liverpool want to mount a serious title challenge this season then Origi needs to show that he can produce now for his team and when Coutinho returns give Klopp a welcome selection dilemma for the upcoming fixtures. If one thing is for sure, Origi is going to have another chance to impress in Tuesday's EFL Cup quarter final with Leeds and if today's performance proves, he should impress again.
