Alan Shearer names two Liverpool players who were 'outstanding' vs Sunderland

Florian Wirtz was among those to impress for Liverpool versus Sunderland, but Alan Shearer thinks another two players were also ‘outstanding’.

Liverpool and Sunderland went head-to-head at the Stadium of Light, with the Reds facing the daunting task of ending the Black Cats’ dominant home record.

Surprisingly, given they had won just one in seven league games before Wednesday, Arne Slot’s men secured a 1-0 win.

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Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal of the game, helping Liverpool improve their Champions League chances and close the gap on Manchester United in fourth place.

Following the fixture, Florian Wirtz has received praise from pundits and fans alike.

Supporters highlighted the midfielder’s connection with Mohamed Salah, while Joe Cole expressed his love for the German.

However, when speaking on Match of the Day on Wednesday evening, Alan Shearer highlighted two more players who were outstanding.

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After Murphy explained why Wirtz played well, Shearer instantly responded by singing the praises of Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

He said: “I thought the two centre halves in Konate and Virgil van Dijk I thought they were outstanding.

“Particularly against Brian Brobbey, who makes it very awkward for you, likes the physical challenge. I thought those two handled him really, really well, and made a couple of last-ditch tackles when he was backing in, particularly Konate. I thought they were outstanding.”

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Arne Slot explains Florian Wirtz improvement at Liverpool

Alongside pundits and fans, Slot has also come out to praise Wirtz for his efforts against Sunderland.

Speaking post-match, he said: “Not for the first time he was really good. But recently when he was really good he was also involved in goals and assists. I think today he was very close and maybe should have been on the scoreboard with the amount of quality he has.

“But it’s good to see, not only him but also other players developing so well and playing another good game of football where we have such a big disappointment against City where we played so well [in the] second half. We deserved so much more than we got. Another time, another goal conceded in extra time and another penalty conceded. So then to bounce back as we did today is a big compliment and a lot of credit to the players.”

Dominik Szoboszlai is now back from suspension, and it will be interesting to see if Slot decides to move Wirtz back out wide and play the Hungarian as the 10.

He may be needed at right-back, but with Joe Gomez back fit, there’s a chance Szoboszlai could actually play a game in his natural role.

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