Liverpool slumped to a shock defeat to Premier League strugglers Swansea City.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were unable to break down their hosts in the first half at the Liberty Stadium, with Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all missing changes.
A rare Swansea attack saw Alfie Mawson hit home what proved to be the decisive goal from a corner which was deflected by Van Dijk onto Federico Fernandez.
Either side of the half time interval, the Reds spurned further chances with Sadio Mane, Van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez all guilty of failing to hit the target.
It was in stoppage time that their best chances came as Roberto Firmino hit the post from six yards before Adam Lallana fluffed his lines and fired over the rebound.
Here were the key talking points from the Liberty Stadium:
Reds’ magic vanished with Coutinho
Liverpool no longer boast a ‘Fab Four’ and questions must be asked of the judgement to sell the creativity of Philippe Coutinho midway through the season.
An attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino was quiet in a performance lacked the required energy and spark to deliver a breakthrough.
Although Adam Lallana and Danny Ings were subsequently introduced, there remained a distinct lack of creativity, dynamism or imagination from the Reds.
They were unable to break through a well performing Swansea unit as a result and the loss will be considered as a missed opportunity in their top four quest.
Without Coutinho to call upon, there is much work to do to ensure Liverpool’s attack is as fluid and threatening for a demanding season run-in.
Robertson roars no more
Swansea maintained a rigid five-man backline which placed the onus on Liverpool’s full-backs to try and provide some credible attacking options.
Between Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson, crosses failed to find any range and resigned the visitors to desperate long shots from Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
Robertson clearly suffered from a case of After The Lord Mayor’s Show on the back of his much-lauded performance against Manchester City last weekend.
His heavy pressing on the Premier League leaders was a distant memory here as he lacked the fire and energy to overcome Carlos Carvalhal’s struggling side.
Liverpool will need more of those traits to help break down teams that will will follow Swansea’s model and set up to frustrate in the months ahead.
Can’s future must be resolved
One of Liverpool’s few positives lay in a player who may not even hang around.
Emre Can’s future remains unresolved but Jurgen Klopp still saw fit to hand his compatriot the captaincy at the Liberty Stadium in Jordan Henderson’s absence.
With his name linked to elite clubs across Europe as his Anfield contract runs down, the German gave a solid performance in the middle of the pitch.
The sale of Coutinho earlier this month has already seemingly had a knock-on effect to Liverpool’s on-field progress before Can’s long-term fate is determined.
Further losses, such as the midfielder, may send a worrying message to the fan base if Liverpool are to continue their upward progression in the league.
Still too early to judge Karius
Loris Karius has not enjoyed the quietest of introductions to his Anfield career.
Officially handed the number-one spot by Klopp in recent weeks, the German was finally provided the opportunity he sought upon his arrival in summer 2016.
But it has not been without faults, with inevitable jeers from the home crowd whenever time the ball travelled in his direction hinting at his susceptibility.
Granted, his overriding contribution here was picking the ball out of Liverpool’s net but it would be unfair to blame Karius for Alfie Mawson’s decisive strike.
Goalkeeping is said to be a lonely trade, and the Liverpool stopper spent most of the second half finding ways to entertain himself while perched 35 yards from his goal.
Karius now has a chance to stake his claim, as Klopp stated, but he will need to be judged on far more than the evidence of this relatively muted outing.