Another game against Manchester City, another penalty. For the third time this season, Liverpool were guilty of gifting Pep Guardiola’s side the chance to score from the spot.
And it followed the trend of not only the afternoon, but also the campaign as a whole.
By upending Nico O’Reilly inside the box, it was the fourth penalty Virgil van Dijk had conceded in 46 appearances this term. For context, that matched the number the centre-back had given away in his first seven-and-a-half seasons with the Reds over 318 games.
As even the imperious Van Dijk has discovered in recent months, Father Time remains undefeated and, at 35, the sharpness of both mind and body isn’t quite as it was, shown when guilty of wrongly attempting to play offside for City’s third.
It hasn’t helped that the skipper has had to carry Liverpool both on and off the field for so long this season, a difficult enough job even at his peak.
He wasn’t alone in being below par, Ibrahima Konate again bullied by Erling Haaland for a headed Etihad goal while the defensive midfield cover, although strong at first, was flimsy when it really counted either side of half-time.
And that City ostensibly scored twice from Liverpool throw-ins was unforgivable. How can the Reds achieve anything when they seem so determined on self-sabotage?
Salah’s unhappy farewell
So begins the long goodbye for Mohamed Salah. And on this initial evidence, it is going to feel very, very long indeed.
In his first Liverpool appearance since announcing he will depart at the end of the season, it took just 14 minutes before the familiar strains of the song hailing the Egyptian King could be heard emanating from the away end.
Almost instantly, Salah was almost on the scoresheet, denied only by a vital touch from Adbukodir Khusanov when latching on to a long punt forward from Giorgi Mamardashvili.
But that the 33-year-old had departed by the time lamentable referee Michael Oliver put Liverpool out of their misery highlighted a dismal afternoon that was summed up when his penalty was repelled by reserve City goalkeeper James Trafford.
In fairness, Salah appeared more involved in the final third than he has for many of his recent Premier League outings, earlier denied by another Trafford save but wildly wasteful from a similar position shortly afterwards.
So often the scourge of City, the Etihad side will be glad to see the back of the Egyptian. But this wasn’t the way he would have wanted to bow out.
The final whistle sounded and Dominik Szoboszlai could be spotted attempting to gee up the few hardy Liverpool supporters who remained dotted around the away end in the South Stand at the Etihad.
It was something of a forlorn task. Meanwhile, a video soon circulated on social media of some of the thousands of Reds fans who opted to leave early pointedly chanting for Xabi Alonso, the former Liverpool midfielder who has been continually linked with a return to Anfield after being sacked by Real Madrid.
Results like this will only intensify such speculation. But the concentration for the Reds now must be on the Champions League – both progressing in this season’s competition and ensuring qualification for the next.
And while clutching at straws somewhat given the horrors either side of the interval, Liverpool simply have to take some confidence from their attacking efforts in the opening half-hour at the Etihad when Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike both roamed with intent.
If Liverpool aren’t the team of last season, then neither are Paris Saint-Germain. And if this campaign has taught us one thing, it’s that anything is up for grabs, such is the paucity of consistent excellence across Europe.
Ian Doyle has covered Liverpool for more than 25 years, following them across Europe in multiple Champions League and Europa League finals and as far afield as Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong and Qatar, and has reported on the Reds winning every major honour. He previously also covered Everton for 18 years and has followed England, reporting on the European Championships and World Cup final. Once had to tell Jude Law he does not drive a Mini.
