Down by the river in SW6, they were lost souls like the Boat Race crews whose vessels sink.
But as Liverpool drifted into Aleksandar Mitrovic's firestorm of belligerence, a horrid truth stalked them along the towpath. Titles are not won on the first day of the season – but they can be lost if there's a glib assumption that Champions League aristocrats will always be too strong for the peasants.
Liverpool fell agonisingly short, by a single point, in their who-blinks-first duel with Manchester City last season – just as they did three years earlier. If they fall the wrong side of gossamer-fine margins again next May, Jurgen Klopp will live to regret the strolling dross his team served up for 45 minutes at Craven Cottage.
