Macho heroics compound Liverpool's frustrating week

Liverpool 0 Sunderland

The first meeting of the teams managed by the former technical directors of the French and English associations ended with the Golden Goal competition being decided by the timing of the first corner. Let no one assume, however, that yesterday's game was a dull, academic exercise, for Liverpool had enough chances to have routed Sunderland and regained first place in the Premiership.

That they did not, leaving Arsenal one point clear, was due less to their own wastefulness than to some wonderfully agile goalkeeping by Jürgen Macho and a resolute rearguard action in which Jody Craddock was outstanding. But, as Gérard Houllier observed, Sunderland also rode their luck, Liverpool's dominance being reflected in statistics which showed them having had 24 shots on target against the visitors' none.

No one came closer than Danny Murphy, who assumed the creative mantle vacated by Steven Gerrard's omission and quivered the crossbar with a 15th-minute shot that clipped the ex-Liverpool defender Phil Babb. And no one spurned a more clear-cut opportunity than Markus Babbel, who was just six minutes into his first starting appearance after a 15-month absence through illness when he met Murphy's cross by the far post. From three yards, the German skied the ball into the Anfield Road end, and though he went on to perform superbly, providing vital attacking width, the tone was set.

Had Babbel scored then, Sunderland would have been prised out of their shell and the floodgates may have opened. Wilkinson could have been looking at a defeat of the magnitude of the last time he brought a side to Anfield, in 1996, when Leeds lost 5-0. He admitted there was no Plan B, yet the longer the contest remained barren, the more determined and organised Sunderland became, and even Houllier described their defending as "heroic".

On a day when the Wearside club signed a new keeper, Derby's Mart Poom, on a two-month loan with a view to a permanent move, no one exemplified their defiance more than Macho. The Austrian, who could be fourth choice when Thomas Sorensen and Thomas Myhre are fit, made gravity-defying saves from headers by Michael Owen and Murphy midway through either half. He also belied his reputation as a sloppy handler of crosses, and when he was beaten by another Owen header in the closing stages, George McCartney headed out acrobatically from under the bar.

Houllier, who has seen his side fail to score in successive League matches and slip out of the Champions' League in between, confessed to feeling frustrated. "The passing and movement were brilliant at times, and the only thing missing was the goal we deserved," he said. "Nine times out of 10 we'd have won a match like this. I feel disappointed for the players because they put in so much effort and energy."

Invited to criticise Sunderland's "negative" tactics – Jerzy Dudek could have gone and sat in the Kop for all the action he saw – Houllier instead expressed solidarity with his old contemporary. "I'm not blaming Howard Wilkinson. I'm actually pleased for him. If they play like that they'll be difficult to beat."

A reporter from Wearside, his tongue practically poking through his cheek, asked Wilkinson whether it had been a case of one point gained or two lost. Peter Reid's successor, whose five-match unbeaten run has included four away from home, allowed himself a slight smile. "If you want a barometer of our progress, look at the goalkeeper," he said. "Five weeks ago he'd have struggled to catch a beach ball. But today he earned us some luck, which we needed because Liverpool played very well at times."

Liverpool (4-3-1-2): Dudek 6; Babbel 8, Traore 7, Hyypia 7, Carragher 6 (Riise 5, 67); Diao 7, Hamann 7, Murphy 8; Smicer 6 (Diouf 5, 67); Owen 7, Heskey 6. Substitutes not used: Baros, Gerrard, Kirkland (gk).

Sunderland (4-4-2): Macho 8; Bjorklund 7, Craddock 8, Babb 6, McCartney 7; Proctor 6 (Stewart, 85), McCann 6, Kilbane 7, Gray 7; Flo 4 (Kyle 4, 73), Phillips 4 (Thirlwell 5, 66). Substitutes not used: Williams, Ingham (gk).

Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay) 7.

Booking: Sunderland: Bjorklund.

Man of the match: Babbel.

Attendance: 43,074.