Liverpool put in an impressive away performance to become the first team to win at Sunderland in the Premier League this season.

Virgil van Dijk's second-half header secured all three points for the visitors, who dominated large parts of the match at the Stadium of Light.

The Liverpool captain nodded on a corner from Mohamed Salah just after the hour mark - and Sunderland's Habib Diarra, who was on the goalline, could only help the ball into the back of the net.

Liverpool were impressive in the first half and dominated the ball - with Arne Slot's side having 68% of the possession.

Having initially struggled to find a way through Sunderland's solid defence, it was Florian Wirtz who came closest to breaking the deadlock.

On the half-hour mark, the German's right-footed strike from outside the box was well saved by Robin Roefs who parried it out for a corner.

Minutes later, Wirtz struck the post with a left-footed effort from inside the area before having a header saved by Roefs.

Liverpool cranked up the pressure although Sunderland did well to ensure the match was still goalless at half-time. Regis Le Bris' side only had five touches in the visitors' box in the first half.

The hosts improved after the break, with skipper Trai Hume firing over, but it was the visitors who took a deserved lead when Van Dijk scored his fourth goal of the season.

Liverpool held on for an important win, but their evening was slightly marred by a worrying injury to Wataru Endo, who was filling in at right-back because of Dominik Szoboszlai's suspension.

The Japan international made his first league start of the season and was defensively solid, winning the most duels (seven) of any player in the match before he fell awkwardly on his ankle shortly after Liverpool took the lead.

Endo was carried off on a stretcher and replaced by Joe Gomez - who has only just returned from injury. After the game Slot said of Endo: "We have to wait and see, but we expect not to have him for quite a long time."

Victory for Liverpool - only their second in the league in 2026 - helped them cut the gap to fifth-placed Chelsea to two points, while Sunderland are 11th.

Much has been made of Sunderland's home record this season - and rightly so.

They went into this game with seven wins and five draws at the Stadium of Light in the top flight.

Liverpool's quality meant they were always going to have more of the ball but Le Bris' side were well structured and initially made it difficult for the visitors to break through.

However, the gaps did open up as the game went on and Sunderland were perhaps fortunate Slot's side were not more clinical.

Sunderland boss Le Bris made one change from their defeat at Arsenal with Nilson Angulo coming in for Chemsdine Talbi down the left.

Perhaps that was a change made with Liverpool's right-back crisis in mind - but Angulo rarely asked questions of Endo.

In possession, Sunderland missed the calming influence of Granit Xhaka, who has an ankle injury and watched on from the stands.

Ultimately, the hosts did not do enough going forward - with Alisson rarely threatened on his 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool - but can take plenty of pride from a memorable home run.

Credit where it is due - this was a rare night of joy on the road for Liverpool in what has been a disappointing campaign thus far.

They battled well against an organised Sunderland side and more than deserved the three points.

Sunderland raced out of the blocks but Liverpool did well to withstand some early pressure and were by far the better side for most of the first half.

They were comfortable in possession, with Wirtz at the heart of everything, and perhaps the only criticism can be their failure to make that dominance count.

In the end, it took a set-piece for Slot's side to break the deadlock - with Liverpool's 10th corner of the game resulting in Van Dijk's goal. The Dutchman now has more goals (23) than any other Liverpool defender in the Premier League era.

Salah's struggles in front of goal are becoming a concern, but he provided his 92nd Premier League assist for Liverpool, moving him level with Steven Gerrard for their most in the competition.

The fact Sunderland rarely threatened is also testament to Liverpool's defence, which saw two changes as Endo and Robertson came in for Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez.

Manchester City are the only other side to have kept a clean sheet at Sunderland this season.

Liverpool have not performed like reigning champions often enough this term, but on this wet night in the north east they turned up and delivered a display befitting of that status.

Sunderland travel to Oxford United in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday (14:00 GMT kick-off) while Liverpool host Brighton in the cup on Saturday (20:00).