The Serb netted his first Premier League goal as Brendan Rodgers’ resurgent men extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven games

Lazar Markovic’s first Premier League goal earned Liverpool a narrow but comfortable win over struggling Sunderland.

The Serbia international, who was denied an early penalty, opened his top-flight account to break the deadlock in the eighth minute at the Stadium of Light on Saturday with a determined off-the-ball run and finish.

Markovic was at the centre of Liverpool’s best play and also struck the woodwork with an acrobatic effort, while ex-Sunderland loanee Fabio Borini was wayward with his shot from a tight angle after rounding Costel Pantilimon in a dominant first half for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Liam Bridcutt was sent off early in the second period to make Sunderland’s task even harder and, although Adam Johnson struck the crossbar soon afterwards, there was no way back for the home side.

Gus Poyet’s men now have just one win from their last 11 top-flight matches, while Liverpool are unbeaten in seven in all competitions.

Jordan Henderson and under-fire goalkeeper Simon Mignolet lined up against their former club, as did Borini, who took the place of the rested Raheem Sterling.

The hosts were without Steven Fletcher (groin), while his planned replacement, Jozy Altidore, was laid low with a sickness bug, leaving Connor Wickham up front on his own.

Liverpool started brightly and felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Markovic took a tumble under a clumsy challenge from Wes Brown after four minutes, with referee Craig Pawson unmoved.

But Markovic, one of three Liverpool changes from the New Year’s Day draw against Leicester City, soon capped a swift break with the opening goal.

Having initially taken possession out wide on the right, Markovic played the ball inside and continued his run before being picked out by Borini’s toe-poked pass. The Serb took that in his stride and bundled through a challenge before steering a shot beneath Pantilimon.

Liverpool continued in the ascendancy and Steven Gerrard, on target twice in Monday’s 2-1 FA Cup triumph over AFC Wimbledon, saw two efforts from outside the box tipped behind for corners by Pantilimon.

The Romanian goalkeeper was beaten by Markovic’s improvised 29th-minute volley, but the ball came back off the crossbar and went out for a corner via Pantilimon’s elbow.

Rodgers’ men still had time to spurn another presentable opportunity before the end of the half, as Borini went past Pantilimon only to shoot into the side netting.

Gerrard did not return for the second period as Dejan Lovren came on, but Liverpool were boosted by Bridcutt’s dismissal in the 49th minute after he had hauled back Emre Can to earn a second yellow.

Sunderland’s best effort on goal arrived two minutes later, when Johnson’s swerving effort caught out Mignolet and Martin Skrtel had to be alert to clear the ball after it had come back off the crossbar, with Patrick van Aanholt closing in.

And, though John O’Shea went close to sliding in a late leveller from Sebastian Larsson’s corner, Liverpool looked comfortable in wrapping up three well-deserved points.

Simon Mignolet has returned to the first team after an injury to Brad Jones and, though the Reds manager has confidence in the Belgian, he wants to bolster his options

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has set his sights on bringing a new goalkeeper to Anfield in the January transfer window.

With Simon Mignolet woefully out of form and the injured Brad Jones’s contract expiring in June, Rodgers has few options to choose from between the posts.

The 21-year-old Danny Ward has made the step up from Liverpool’s reserve team to provide back-up to Mignolet – dropped by Rodgers in December after a string of poor outings – as Jones battles a thigh injury.

Mignolet’s abilities were once again put in the spotlight as his inability to handle a high ball helped AFC Wimbledon draw level in Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round trip to Kingsmeadow and Rodgers accepts he needs to bolster his options.

“I think we need a goalkeeper of some sort; it’s just depending on how long Brad Jones is going to be out injured,” he told reporters.

“We are obviously down and have got two young inexperienced keepers behind Simon, who is only just back in the team, so we need to assess that.”

Rodgers believes that the source of Mignolet’s lack of confidence is a struggle with the demands placed upon him to contribute to Liverpool’s possession-based game. Previous first-choice Pepe Reina was regarded as one of the Premier League’s finest distributors, with the Belgian unable to fill the Spaniard’s shoes fully so far.

“Simon was at the time we were watching him, and still is, a wonderful shot-stopper,” Rodgers insisted.

“He makes big saves but the adaptation for him is coming into a big team where you are not having to make as many saves and therefore concentration is important and you probably have more touches of the ball with your feet than what he might have expected.

“He has come in here under massive expectation to replace a player who was outstanding for Liverpool for seven or eight years.

“He is trying to develop areas of his game. He knows he needs to improve with his feet and he is working hard on that on a daily basis. He is analysing the games and working with the coach and doing everything he can to be the best he can be.”

The winger was the subject of numerous bids from across Europe, including a big money offer for the Reds, but was only ever interested in a move to San Siro

Xherdan Shaqiri rejected a €20 million move to Liverpool prior to signing for Inter, Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge has revealed.

The Switzerland international agreed to join the blue and black half of San Siro on loan until the end of the season on Thursday, with a permanent €15 million expected to go through at the end of the campaign.

His future has been the subject of intense speculation for much of the last 12 months, with Liverpool strongly credited with an interest throughout, but it appears he long had his future mapped out.

Asked why Bayern had turned down a larger €20m bid from the Reds, Rummenigge said: “I don’t owe explanations to anyone.

“But if you really want to know, it’s very simple: the boy only wanted to join Inter and it was the same for us. End of story. I also refused offers from half the continent back in the day so I could join Inter. Inter are Inter.”

Shaqiri, 23, joined Bayern from FC Basel in 2012 with a reputation as one of Europe’s finest attacking prospects, but has found opportunities limited at the Allianz Arena.

He departs with two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League title on his CV, but without ever nailing down a regular starting slot as a result of Pep Guardiola’s preference to field Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in the two wide roles.

Inter boss Roberto Mancini could hand him his first taste of Serie A action in the clash with Genoa at San Siro on Sunday.