If Jurgen Klopp thought it was "proper torture" watching back last season's Champions League final defeat, then the Liverpool boss hopefully steeled himself appropriately before setting down to review the latest setback against Real Madrid.
The reverberations from the Reds' demoralising 5-2 defeat to the Spanish outfit will be felt long after the inevitable formalities of the second leg of their round of 16 tie are completed at the Bernabeu in three weeks.
Indeed, Klopp didn't need a replay to determine just why Liverpool slumped to a record home loss in European competition, swiftly determining his team had gifted Real the goals that made them the first visiting team other than Arsenal to score more than four times in a match at Anfield in almost 70 years.
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But as he ran through an uncomfortable rerun of a dismal evening, the Reds boss will be pondering the precise reasons for his team's rearguard crumbling in such shocking fashion.
Similar to many of the issues that have become glaringly apparent for Liverpool during a difficult campaign, there isn't one easy, convenient, straightforward answer.
Just look at the five goals conceded. There was the individual, slack defending from Joe Gomez who turned his back on Vinicius Jr for the visitors' first goal. There was a goalkeeping error in Alisson Becker striking a clearance that hit the same player and looped into the goal for Real's equaliser. There was the collective failure to mark properly at set-pieces for the third. There was the hesitation inside the area that allowed Karim Benzema to get his deflected shot away for the fourth. And there was the poor touch from Fabinho at a Liverpool attacking throw-in and subsequent wayward positioning that allowed the Spaniards to race away for the fifth.
The Reds conceded in almost every conceivable avoidable manner, the perfect storm of defensive howlers all happening on one night against a team who have made economical attacking devastation an art form.
But it wasn't a one-off. In losing at Brentford, Brighton and Wolves at the start of the year, Liverpool shipped three goals in three successive away league games for the first time since 1993. And they opened their Champions League campaign with a 4-1 loss at Napoli, which was their heaviest European defeat since 1966 until being surpassed on Tuesday evening.
Liverpool have conceded three goals on eight occasions already this season. The most they have done so during the Premier League era was in 2017/18 and 2015/16 when they did so nine times. For comparison, in 2018/19 it happened only twice.
Key has been a lack of consistency down the defensive spine of the team. All four main Liverpool centre-back options have been injured at some point this season, with Ibrahima Konate likely to be out for another few weeks with a hamstring problem as the Reds wait to discover if Gomez, who limped off against Real, has suffered a similar complaint.
And then there's the anchor role in midfield, with Fabinho's recent revival coming to a shuddering halt in the second half on Tuesday, lacking, similar to Jordan Henderson, the legs to maintain his early intensity. For teenager Stefan Bajcetic, meanwhile, it was an eye-opening evening from which he could take both encouragement and some major lessons.
Of course, the need for new midfielders is nothing new. Liverpool will surely look to procure at least two in the summer, with expensive, high-profile names required to increase the quality while also easing the load on those that will remain in the squad.
But it has become increasingly evident a significant centre-back purchase must also be high on the agenda given the lack of reliability - either in terms of form or availability - of the present senior quartet, and the advancing years of Virgil van Dijk and Matip, the latter of whom is in any case approaching the last 12 months of his current deal.
That, though, is for the end of the season. Qualifying for the Champions League with a top-four finish is now the one realistic aim this term. So what can Liverpool do now?
In truth, there had already been tentative progress, with four clean sheets in six games before Tuesday's shellacking. Not every forward line will have the ruthless potency of Real.
But, similar to last season, it may require a further tempering of attacking ambition despite the increased availability up top. Klopp revealed during the thrilling run-in to the previous campaign that, after a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in early January, Liverpool decided to get back to basics. On Tuesday, they attempted to go toe-to-toe with Real Madrid and, ultimately, fell some way short. They simply don't have the personnel to play that way at present.
Keeping matters simple also worked in 2020/21, a more relevant comparison given Liverpool were similarly unfancied to finish in the top four after a dire run of form at the start of the new year. How they would love a repeat of that unlikely Champions League qualification.
It may not be a pretty move, but aesthetics matter little right now. After all, nothing can be as ugly as the Real Madrid repeat Klopp will have sat through as he attempts to salvage Liverpool's tortuous campaign.
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