The confirmation that this is no ordinary Liverpool slump came with Jurgen Klopp's teamsheet against Chelsea last weekend, not that there have been many slumps under his tenure of course.
In leaving the likes of Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho out of the starting XI there was a tacit suggestion from the Liverpool manager that all is not well, and that major changes are needed.
In came Joe Gomez, Naby Keita and most intriguingly of all Stefan Bajcetic, the latter fresh from a stellar performance in the FA Cup win at Wolves and in for his first Premier League start.
