Liverpool continue challenge for top-four PL spot with 1-0 win over Sunderland

Liverpool beat 10-man Sunderland 1-0 to claim a third win in four Premier League games and continue their challenge for a top-four spot.

Serbian winger Lazar Markovic's early shot put the visitors in the driving seat at the eighth minute. A volley from the Serb also hit the crossbar, while Sunderland had Liam Bridcutt sent off for two bookings.

Sunderland winger Adam Johnson hit the crossbar but Liverpool held on, despite losing skipper Steven Gerrard at halftime after he felt his hamstring, the BBC reported.

This was Liverpool's sixth clean sheet from 37 games and they had to endure a nervous finish following their failure to turn their dominance and numerical advantage into more goals.

Sunderland, who presented a greater threat despite being a 10-man squad against Liverpool's 11, struggled to create chances and have managed just one home win in 11 top-flight outings so far this season.

Philippe Coutinho's piercing pass found Markovic, who went down under a Wes Brown challenge, which left Brendan Rodgers' men furious at the referee's decision not to award a penalty.

However, the official played advantage in the build-up to Liverpool's intricate opener as he allowed play to continue even after Fabio Borini appeared to have been fouled just outside the area, and Markovic slotted a shot past keeper Costel Pantilimon for his first league goal for the club.

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said that if one goes by the rules then he can go with the referee because they are both yellow cards for Liam Bridcutt. He added that it is a shame that his side failed to bring the firepower they did when they were 10 in the second half, into the first half when both the teams had 11 players.

Poyet claimed that they did practically nothing in the first half apart from wait for Liverpool to score, adding that then they had a go.

Liverpool manager Rodgers said that their only disappointment against Sunderland was that they didn't have the extra goals to show for their domination, adding that his side had real good control of the game.