There were testing conditions at the Stadium of Light, and while neither goalkeeper had to deal with a shot early on, they both convincingly punched away a potentially awkward ball.
Battles started to play out across the pitch and both teams had periods of patient possession, although that didn’t translate to clear opportunities with Ibrahima Konaté smashing a speculative attempt harmlessly over.
The Frenchman then did brilliantly at the other end to stop Brian Brobbey’s attempt from Nordi Mukiele’s cross.
A Florian Wirtz pass bounced awkwardly off Omar Alderete before eventually trickling behind, but Sunderland’s defensive solidity meant the visitors initially had to resort to efforts from range before stepping up their search for an opener.
Wirtz was the creator in chief, as the German saw a strike from range palmed behind for a corner that culminated in Virgil van Dijk heading over the crossbar, and he then hit the post with another attempt.
Alderete then got enough on Van Dijk’s effort to deflect it over before Roefs rushed out to stop a Wirtz header.
Régis Le Bris’ side had a promising start to the second half and Trai Hume hit an ambitious strike from range over the crossbar.
Liverpool certainly made attacks of their own, as Daniel Ballard and Reinildo Mandava thwarted Wirtz and Mohamed Salah attempts respectively, either side of Mukiele firing wide.
Their willingness to put their body on the line wasn’t enough in the 61st minute, though, as Habib Diarra headed Van Dijk’s header from a Salah corner into his own net.
The visitors faced a blow of their own with Wataru Endo being forced off due to an injury, but they kept coming forward with Salah’s shot being blocked by Enzo Le Fée.
A Hume header and Mukiele shot both went over at the other end, before Hugo Ekitike guided a header wide and Curtis Jones and Salah all came close.
Despite the misses, Liverpool secured the third win from their last four matches across all competitions to gain ground on Manchester United and Chelsea in the PL table.
In doing so, the Reds ended Sunderland’s unbeaten record in home PL matches this term, which had been the league’s last remaining streak.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)