Perhaps the most perverse thing about it all here was that some actually expected it to go differently for Liverpool.
After one of the all-time performances and results against Manchester United last week - a mauling so historic that it rewrote the record books - it was assumed by many, with justifiable conviction, that the Reds had injected plenty of confidence and belief to continue their timely upturn.
Despite a bruising opening few weeks of 2023, a five-game unbeaten run that climaxed against their fierce arch-rivals last weekend had convinced enough people that this Liverpool team was over the worst, that those aberrations at Wolves and Brentford and Brighton were consigned to an ugly chapter of a forgettable campaign that was at least set to end on a happier, more welcome note. Not so.
