Liverpool's season sunk to a new low on Saturday afternoon when they were beaten 3-0 by Brighton and Hove Albion after a timid showing on the South Coast.
After a string of errors in the first half somehow went unpunished, the Reds found themselves two goals down shortly after the interval as a quickfire brace from Solly March finally penalised Jurgen Klopp's side for their woeful showing at the Amex Stadium.
Former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck sealed all three points for Roberto de Zerbi's side as he lifted the ball over Joe Gomez before calmly slotting past Alisson Becker between the sticks.
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VERDICT: What Jurgen Klopp did to away end speaks volumes as Liverpool boss left shellshocked
In his post-match press conference, the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confessed that he couldn't remember a "worse game" that he has overseen during his managerial career.
A sixth defeat of the Premier League season leaves Klopp's men seven points adrift of the Champions League places, with games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton in the next four weeks.
Here's how the national media reacted to the Reds' humiliating defeat.
"Outwitted, out run and out manoeuvred" - Jim White, The Times.
"Still, it is not all bad news. If, as he suggested during the week, it was the chase after four trophies last season that has exhausted his team this time round, at least he won’t have that problem next year," writes White. "After this abject loss on the south coast, all Liverpool look to be chasing this season is everyone else’s back. This setback leaves Klopp's side not just 10 points behind Manchester United in the league, but now, as they sink into mid-table, two behind Brighton. And frankly, given the way they played here, no one should be surprised.
"Because while the personnel might be largely the same, this Liverpool side was a husk of the one that chased all four trophies so recently. As Klopp admitted, he was not short of good players to send out on the Amex. Yet they were outwitted, out run and out manoeuvred by an excellent Brighton team.
"The grin the home manager Roberto De Zerbi wore as he trotted down the touchline when the third goal was scored was wholly indicative. As the Italian rubbed his hands together in delight, just a few metres away Klopp looked as though he wished a hole might appear into which he might crawl."
"A previous area of great strength has become one of serious concern" - John Brewin, The Guardian
"After flying so high last season Liverpool are now experiencing crashing lows. Defeat to an inspired, superb Brighton was the lowest yet," writes Brewin. "It was difficult to argue with Jürgen Klopp’s assessment that this was the worst performance of his tenure, perhaps his entire career. 'I can’t remember another one', said his captain, Jordan Henderson, grimacing at a 'really tough day'. It had been a mournful performance from Liverpool, one of submission to a team moving into a different gear under Roberto De Zerbi.
"That their first two goals came from Solly March, who joined Brighton when a League One outfit, served to remind of the distance the club has travelled.
"Moisés Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, together in midfield for the first time since 13 November, were dominant. Both South Americans have been lately linked with moves to Liverpool, where Klopp had opted for the midfield old guard of Henderson, Thiago and Fabinho.
"A previous area of great strength has become one of serious concern."
"It backfired" - Riath Al-Samarrai, Daily Mail
"The warnings for Liverpool were abundant but unlike the Brentford debacle, where they lost 3-1 and Klopp hooked three men at the break, their manager resisted what may have been a strong urge for changes," writes Al-Samarrai in his report. "It backfired.
"Matip gifted Brighton the opener within a minute of the restart by fluffing a pass that was intercepted by Mac Allister and fed to Mitoma, who squared to March to finish. Seven minutes later, the threat level was raised when Ferguson cut out Ibrahima Konate with a threaded pass to March. His strike across Alisson and inside the far post was a delight.
"Klopp reacted by swapping off four men in one go and De Zerbi made two of his own. Appropriately for the match, one of the Brighton substitutes, Welbeck, flicked past one of the Liverpool replacements, Joe Gomez, on his way to drilling the third."
"Liverpool's car-crash season plunged into new depths of despair" - Ryan Taylor, Daily Express
"There is simply no escaping it. Liverpool are a team in crisis, a sinking ship that was simply no match for this ever-improving Brighton side that continue to set the benchmark for the rest of the Premier League in their quest to gatecrash the Big Six," writes Taylor.
"The relentless, eye-catching Seagulls - inspired by the unstoppable Kaoru Mitoma and two-goal Solly March - tore the depleted Reds to shreds as Liverpool's car-crash season plunged into new depths of despair. Brighton, who grabbed a deserved third to cap a statement attacking performance, were magnificent and in truth, would have dismantled almost any side that stood before them this afternoon as Roberto De Zerbi's spellbinding football once again left a lasting impression on the delighted home crowd as Jurgen Klopp could only watch on in horror."
"No real shock" - Paul Gorst, Liverpool ECHO
"The most concerning aspect of this miserable 3-0 defeat was how it was no real shock. Not really, anyway," writes the ECHO's Liverpool correspondent.
"Even for an upwardly mobile and well-coached side like the high-flying Brighton, that Liverpool trudged down south on Saturday morning with such trepidation - and dare it even be said, fear - highlighted just how stagnant and stale it has all become.
"Klopp had clearly instructed Thiago Alcantara to get tight to the excellent Moises Caicedo as often as possible in an effort to restore some zest and zeal to what used to be Liverpool's midfield press but the Spaniard was way off the pace during a frustrating first half that saw Roberto de Zerbi's side routinely play around the Reds with ease. He wasn't alone on that score at least.
"The lack of confidence and belief was as obvious as their inability to get about the pitch effectively and Klopp's frank - and perhaps belated - admission on Friday that last season's 63-game marathon season has actually had an adverse impact on fortunes this term was a stark one.
"This team just doesn't look like the same one that went so close to winning it all just a few months ago and while that is something many have said for some time now, that the manager himself is publicly accepting it is a worrying development. The contrast is startling."
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