Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool: Anything but three points would have been a nightmare for a manager still on trial but this win must be a springboard for Arne Slot, writes LEWIS STEELE

Arne Slot admitted on Tuesday that Liverpool would need to be 'close to perfection' if they are to qualify for next season's Champions League .

He was talking about results, mainly, but also noting that performances must improve if he is to silence the hard-to-please dissenters in the fan-base that would have underperforming manager Slot on the next plane back to Rotterdam if they could.

This display was still some way from the on-pitch perfection Slot craves but after becoming the first team to leave Sunderland with a victory this season, the Dutch manager will not care a jot.

Virgil van Dijk was the goal-scoring hero to nudge a tight game in his team's favour with a second-half header that helped Liverpool close the gap on top five rivals Manchester United and Chelsea , both of whom could only draw on Tuesday.

A midweek trip to Wearside provided an almighty banana skin for the champions, and not just because nonstop downpour had soaked the area around the atmospheric fortress of the Stadium of Light.

Some car parks on site had to be closed and a pitch inspection was needed given the relentless rain.

Virgil van Dijk scored the winner just after the hour mark as his header went in off Habib Diarra

Arne Slot suffered a huge blow when Wataru Endo was taken off in a stretcher with injury

Victory provides a huge boost to Slot, who has been under pressure amid the club's struggles

But that would have not stacked up as an excuse for Slot, the manager who was under a mountain of pressure after a run of just one win in seven league games since the turn of the year.

Anything but three points would have been a nightmare for the boss who is on trial with many fans. When Sunderland walked out to the Apprentice theme-tune, some supporters may have wished they were Lord Sugar with the savage finger and 'you're fired' put-down.

But Slot is still fighting and this victory represents a step in the right direction for a team that would be fearing just how low they can go this season.

There are 'no guarantees' about Slot's future, according to the boss himself – and certainly no guarantees about finishing in the top five. This win, therefore, must now act as a springboard for consistency after many big wins recently have been followed up by more disappointments.

Sunderland away is certainly not the fixture Slot would pick for this must-win game. The Black Cats came here with a proud unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light since their promotion, the only team in England's top four leagues other than Bromley to be unbeaten at home.

But records are there to be broken and Liverpool looked in the mood to do so with a flurry late in the first half that had goalkeeper Robin Roefs slipping and sliding left, right and centre in the sodden conditions to keep out several away efforts.

After a profligate first 30 minutes, Slot's side soon found their groove through Florian Wirtz. Everything came through the creative German, who had one powerful shot well saved and one roll past Roefs only to bounce back off the far post.

Van Dijk also saw the ball fall to him on around the penalty spot but, before he could get his shot away, defenders Omar Alderete and Dan Ballard had both charged in his direction and put their bodies on the line to block the effort.

Florian Wirtz had the best chance of the first half but his effort struck the post

Van Dijk's goal proved enough for three points as the Reds became the first team to win at Sunderland this season

Sunderland, meanwhile, had some nice moments on the counter-attack but they were few and far between with goalkeeper Alisson hardly called into action. Brian Brobbey, the Dutch striker, proved a handful and enjoyed his frequent bouts of wrestling with defender Ibrahima Konate.

With no Dominik Szoboszlai – Liverpool's undisputed best player this season – Slot was forced to pick 33-year-old midfielder Wataru Endo at right back. It might have seemed like a stop-gap option but the Japan captain, as he so often does in multiple positions, proved a reliable deputy.

The Black Cats started to grow in confidence after the break as Brobbey and Nordi Mukiele both had shots, while Wirtz continued to be the danger man at the other end. Mohamed Salah (remember him?) also went close but Ballard heroically blocked his effort.

Yet the home team could only hold on for so long as they were soon behind owing to a Liverpool corner. Salah, who had been causing problems from set-pieces all match, fizzed an inswinger on to the head of captain Van Dijk who powered it goalwards.

The Reds had seen set-piece coach Aaron Briggs pay the price for a torrid dead-ball record just after Christmas and it is unfair on him to say his exit has been the catalyst for change. But they have certainly improved in that area since New Year.

One thing they have been working on is the so-called 'meat wall' of packing the six-yard box with bodies and then powering in an inswinging corner. Set-pieces are so often billed as a small margin differential but, in this game, it was the difference between one or three points.