Glimpse of the old Torres gives Hodgson cause to be optimistic

Liverpool 2 Sunderland

All the talk was of the free-kick that never was: Michael Turner's roll-back to his goalkeeper, seized on by Fernando Torres, that provoked a torrent of debate and a renewed interest in the laws of the game. However, for Roy Hodgson perhaps the most interesting goal was the one that was disallowed.

When men are surrounded by darkness they will look to any point of light but the way Torres controlled the ball and drove it into the roof of the net beneath the Kop suggested that Rafael Benitez's great legacy to Anfield is rediscovering the touch that 16 months ago brought Liverpool close enough to the Premier League trophy to smell the Brasso.

It was a second 2-2 draw in the space of four days but this time there was no penalty shoot-out in the downpour and Hodgson, his club blazer dryer that it was after the debacle against Northampton, was able to extend his conversation beyond a mere apology to the supporters.

"The Fernando Torres you saw today was much, much different to the Fernando Torres you saw in the opening couple of games," the Liverpool manager reflected. "People wanted to see the very best of him from the moment he stepped back on the field after the World Cup but the point is he needs time, he needs games. He was very unlucky with the disallowed goal because that would have been one of the goals of the month with that magnificent chest control and volley."

There are those on Merseyside who would argue that a point against Sunderland, who had not scored at Anfield in a decade and who had last won here when the city's politics were dominated by the Militant Tendency rather than the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, is not a flag day for football in Liverpool.

"The players are trying to come to terms with the enormous expectation here," said Hodgson. "That, at the moment, is our major problem. Everything is very new; there are a lot of new players, uncertainty over the ownership of the club and the minute you are not top of the table after five or six games, people are saying this is not good enough. I am not saying it is good enough but I am saying this is something that could have been predicted."

However, this is a Sunderland side that, unlike their opponents, is beginning to fulfil the expectations of their supporters. Of current Premier League managers only Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger enjoy better records than Steve Bruce when it comes to taking points from Liverpool, although, away from the Stadium of Light, he has overseen one win since his first game at Sunderland's helm.

Their spirit could be summed up by Turner's performance. On the face of it this was an afternoon he would want to recall from under the duvet. His attempt to take a free kick had led to a goal which will be on a score of DVDs come Christmas; a goal that almost everyone at Anfield expected to be disallowed. Later, he deflected Torres' cross to Steven Gerrard for an equaliser Liverpool had scarcely deserved. However, as they pummelled and pounded the Sunderland defence while the final minutes dribbled away, Turner, whose bandaged ankle had allowed him a single training session in a week, took the ball from David Ngog's boots as it seemed he must score. Like Hodgson with Torres it was a shard of light in the gloom.

Match facts

Liverpool 4-1-3-2: Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher, Konchesky (Agger, 28); Poulsen (Ngog, 61); Meireles, Gerrard, Cole; Kuyt, Torres. Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Jovanovic, Kyrgiakos, Rodriguez, Lucas.

Booked Torres, Kuyt, Gerrard.

Sunderland 4-1-4-1: Mignolet; Onuoha, Turner, Bramble, Bardsley; Cattermole; Al-Mohamady, Henderson, Malbranque (Riveros, 88), Welbeck (Gyan, 81); Bent (Zenden, 90). Substitutes not used: Gordon (gk), Colback, Da Silva, Reid.

Booked Mignolet.

Man of the match Gerrard.

Possession Liverpool 53% Sunderland 47%

Shots on target Liverpool 5 Sunderland 1

Referee S Attwell (Warwickshire). Attendance 43,626. Match rating 8/10.