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The cheers of "¡olé!" which reverberated around the Hawthorns seemed to tally with Brendan Rodgers' plan to bring 'tiki taka' football to Liverpool but for the reasons he or they intended.
His players fluffed their lines against West Brom to deliver the first shock of the new Premier League season and left the 39-year-old hoping this does not become a recurring theme.
Granted it was not as denegrating as the start to last term, when his Swansea side held firm for the best part of an hour before shipping four goals away to Manchester City but only marginally.
And while his former club were romping home to a 5-0 win over former relegation escapees Queens Park Rangers, Rodgers was presiding over Liverpool's worst curtain-raiser in 75 years.
Not since a 6-1 humbling to Chelsea in 1937 have they suffered such a heavy opening day defeat and further warnings from history will be something he is certainly desperate to avoid.
He is under no illusion of the task he faces in winning over the fans and despite an early and vociferous acknowledgement by the travelling Kop at The Hawthorns, it is clear that the hard work has only just begun with unsettling parallels already existing in their first league outing.
Steve Clarke's presence on the touchline gave license to comparisons between the Liverpool side being subjected to a tactical revolution and the one which the West Brom manager marshaled during last season's tumultuous domestic campaign under Kenny Dalglish.
Back then Liverpool were threatening and unrelenting but lacked the killer instinct to finish off teams and this short trip to the Midlands was no different to those fruitless outcomes.
It was here, again in the sunshine, some 16 months ago that a deposed former Reds coaching staff sought revenge against his successor. But gone are both Dalglish and Roy Hodgson, replaced by Anfield's next generation of old and new. And once more the relics triumphed.
Liam Ridgwell's climbing effort in the opening minutes served as a shot across the bows, as did Shane Long's ability to steal in past Lucas Leiva before floating a chipped effort wide of Pepe Reina's goal.
Fabio Borini endured a muted appearance although a looping shot gave Ben Foster cause for concern after Glen Johnson had skipped down the left-hand side of the Midlanders' area.
Luis Suarez tested Foster with a stinging long-range effort after beating two West Brom defenders - a feat which he repeated some minutes later but the end product was the same.
The Uruguayan appears to have brought his dancing shoes back to Merseyside, with his continual twisting and turning leaving several of Clarke's players for dead on numerous occasions.
He should have done better after a failed one-two returned to his path only to drag his shot wide under pressure from Gareth McAuley, but signs of a Suarez resurgence were promising.
Even when he powered a free header over the crossbar from close range after another jinking run and cross by Johnson, hopes refused to dissipate that the breakthrough was imminent.
But his frustrations began to simmer at the break as he was cautioned for dissent as all of Liverpool's endeavours began to unravel in an all-too-familiar fashion.
James Morrison's corner shortly before the interval was cleared by Skrtel but only as far as Gera, who unleashed a 25-yard half volley which had Reina well beaten to set Baggies bouncing.
Matters were worsened by Agger receiving an instant dismissal for pulling down Long after the striker had managed to give Skrtel the slip but Reina maintained the deficit by saving the Irishman's ensuing, poorly taken penalty.
Long would return to haunt Liverpool again as he proved impossible for Skrtel to handle as he won a second successive spot kick, this time duly dispatched by Peter Odemwingie.
Romelu Lukaku's introduction almost yielded a third as he surged past a Liverpool defence lapsing in concentration following Agger's departure but Morrison's strike seemed more befitting of his opponents than it did the hosts.
And the misery was further compounded as Ridgewell was able to break down the right-hand side of the area before finding an unmarked Lukaku at the far post to head home comfortably.
The on-loan Chelsea striker made a lasting first impression to kick-start his season-long switch as he almost doubled his tally by eluding the watch of both Skrtel and Jamie Carragher.
Several of Rodgers' familiar allies appeared ill-suited to their opening test in his new role, personified best by Joe Cole's nine-minute cameo before being replaced by Andy Carroll.
Clearly his vision for Liverpool is a work in progress and one which will not be painless, as arguably the most experimental manager in the club's modern history is only willing to attest.
BRENDAN RODGERS: "I feel for the players because I thought up until they scored the goal that we got a good rhythm in the game and started to pass, probe and move.
"We actually looked like it was probably going to be ourselves that made the breakthrough. It just looked like it was only going to be a matter of time before we scored but there's no complaints.
"The two decisions were poor I've got to say. for the penalties and the sending off. I'm not going to use referees' excuses all the time and I like Phil [Dowd].
"But when you see the incident, it was never a penalty, the first one. Shane's pace takes him through into the box and he's just getting back at it, Daniel.
"So one, I don't think it was a penalty. Two, it wasn't then a sending off and then the other penalty, he doesn't even touch him so it went against us and that's the way it goes sometimes.
"There'll be other days as well of hurt along the way but I can't ask any more of the players. I thought they gave me everything."
WEST BROM (4-2-1-3): Foster; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Mulumbu, Yacob; Morrison (Brunt 81); Gera (Fortune 68), Long (Lukaku 68), Odemwingie
Subs not used: Myhill, Jara, Dawson, El Ghanassy
Goals: Gera (44), Odemwingie (PEN 64), Lukaku (78)
Booked: Fortune
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Reina; Kelly, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson; Allen, Lucas (Cole 69) (Carroll 78), Gerrard; Suarez, Borini, Downing (Carragher 59)
Subs not used: Jones, Adam, Henderson, Shelvey
Booked: Johnson, Suarez
Sent off: Agger
Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire)
Attendance: 26,039
