Liverpool failed to close the gap on Chelsea as they were held by a late Jermain Defoe penalty in a 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had appeared on course to cut the deficit with the Premier League leaders down to three points after Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring.

The England striker pounced to head Dejan Lovren’s wayward shot past Vito Mannone early in the first half of the Stadium of Light encounter.

But the Black Cats struck back when Defoe converted from the spot after Ragner Klavan had tripped Didier Ndong in the penalty area just five minutes later.

Sadio Mane put the Reds back in the lead after the interval with a coolly-taken finish but the winger cost his side by blocking a Seb Larsson shot with his arm.

With six minutes remaining, Defoe stepped up for a second time in the afternoon to dispatch from 12 yards and deny the visitors maximum points.

Here were the key talking points from Wearside:

Advantage, Chelsea

 

Jurgen Klopp enjoyed being a persistent thorn in Chelsea’s side after pulling ahead of Manchester City in the battle to catch the current table toppers.

Winning 13 games and still only being six points ahead will have been a chagrin to Antonio Conte, the Liverpool manager joyfully claimed on New Year’s Eve.

But Chelsea will head into Wednesday’s encounter with Tottenham brimming with confidence after enjoying a five-point margin on their closest competitors.

It has been a recurring theme whenever potential title glory has beckoned for Liverpool in recent years, dating back to the shortfall of the 2008/09 season.

This was supposed to be a mark-up on that much vaunted but, ultimately, fruitless campaign after going one better on points in their first 19 games.

Except Liverpool began the second half of this season in the same fashion they had seen in 2016; frustrated on their travels to a lesser side.

The smiles will certainly belong to Stamford Bridge this evening.

No end to Sturridge struggles

 

It is a refrain which continues to echo around Anfield and down the seasons.

“If Daniel Sturridge can stay fit…”

The England international was gifted his first Premier League start since the stalemate with Manchester United in October and repaid Klopp’s faith early on.

An instinctive header after Dejan Lovren scuffed his shot into the turf suggested that the good times were back for both Sturridge and Liverpool.

Then, predictably, the inevitable downside set in; he limped off with only 10 minutes remaining after a fairly innocuous clash with Papy Djilobodji.

Had Klopp been hoping to turn to the Reds’ no.15 to fill the void left by Sadio Mane’s impending departure to the Africa Cup of Nations, it will be huge gamble.

Sturridge’s struggles remain a recurring theme and the inevitable questions about his long-term suitability to the club will not be disappearing any time soon.

Reds struck by New Year hangover

 

Klopp may have been at a loss as to how his side failed to take maximum points away from the Stadium of Light but it was no mystery to other on-lookers.

Liverpool were in the grip of a New Year’s Eve hangover.

How else do you explain Mane’s moment of madness in the penalty area?

Relentlessly toiling against Manchester City in under 45 hours before they travelled to Wearside was always going to have a physical downside.

The energy with which Anfield gleefully saw out 2016 against Pep Guardiola’s side was sorely lacking, not least from the likes of Mane and Adam Lallana.

A Sunderland team scrapping for its top flight survival was always going to be a tough ask but incredibly so on the back of the limited turnaround time.

Maybe Sam Allardyce had a point about sacking the festive fixture schedulers.

Henderson return can’t come soon enough

 

Jordan Henderson has set his sights on leading Liverpool out for next weekend’s trip to Manchester United.

Given the current track record on targeted comebacks at Anfield, it may potentially be closer to the EFL Cup semi-final date with Southampton.

But whichever proves to be the case, Liverpool need their captain back sooner rather than later after missing more than his leadership qualities against the Black Cats.

Emre Can may have held his own against City two days ago but he lacked the industry and guile that Henderson had provided alongside him.

In his skipper’s absence, the German midfielder appeared off the pace and incapable of making the right decision when regularly pressured.

Georginio Wijnaldum, similarly, appeared out of sorts without Henderson’s safeguarding allowing him to press as he had done just days earlier.

The Liverpool captain’s absence is being felt greater than either Philippe Coutinho or even Joel Matip have in recent weeks.