Sunderland class of 2015 make it easy for Liverpool

Sunderland 0 Liverpool 1: Where’s Niall Quinn when you need him?

In times of trouble, a common escape route is to don rose-tinted spectacles and wallow in a spot of good old-fashioned nostalgia. Gus Poyet wasn’t exactly wallowing, more drawing uncomfortable parallels between Sunderland past and present.

The lessons of last season’s Great Escape haven’t been learned as the Wearside club tumble towards another bitter fight for Premier League survival, largely courtesy of scoring just 18 goals this term.