Suarez nets a brace in return to Premiership

The win put them on 13 points from six games,ahead of Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference and two points behind Arsenal.

Luis Suarez marked his return to Premier League action with two goals to help Liverpool to a 3-1 win at managerless Sunderland that lifted them to second in the table on Sunday.

The Uruguay striker,who returned from a 10-match ban for biting in the midweek League Cup loss at Manchester United,was making his first league appearance since being suspended for biting Chelseas Branislav Ivanovic in April.

He scored Liverpools second in the 36th minute after Daniel Sturridge had opened their account eight minutes earlier with a controversial goal that went in off his upper arm after he had risen to try to head in a corner.

Sunderland,bottom of the table with one point,got themselves back into the game early in the second half when Emanuele Giaccherini pounced after keeper Simon Mignolet failed to deal with Ki Sung-Yeungs long-range effort.

Suarez had to wait until the 89th minute for his second goal and it was Sturridge again who set him up for a simple finish that sealed Liverpools fourth league victory of the season.

The win put them on 13 points from six games,ahead of Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference and two points behind leaders Arsenal.

Sunderland,who sacked Paolo Di Canio last Sunday after a string of poor results and media reports of dressing-room unrest because of his abrasive management style,started brightly and Seb Larsson hit the bar with a 24th-minute free kick.

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Sturridges fifth league goal of the season will draw plenty of complaints from Sunderland when the England international converted Steven Gerrards corner with his arm. There could be no argument over Liverpools second goal as Gerrards superb long pass picked out Sturridge on and the striker put a perfectly weighted ball across the goal for Suarez to tap in.

POSING PROBLEMS

Sunderland were fired up in the second half and soon after Adam Johnson shot wide,they finally got on the scoresheet through Giaccherinis quick thinking after Mignolet could only push Kis shot straight to him. The hosts nearly drew level moments later when Craig Gardners shot from range forced Mignolet into a superb save and they continued to press hard.

It was the result of a quick counter-attacking move following a Sunderland corner with Mignolet throwing the ball to Suarez,who ran forward before finding Sturridge on the left and the Englishman put the ball across goal for Suarez to finish.

Earlier in the day,Jonny Howson struck the winner as Norwich City beat below-par hosts Stoke City 1-0.