If the next six weeks represent a sort of mini-season of its own for Liverpool before the winter World Cup, then this was an opening day that was every bit as frustrating as the real one at Fulham in August.
After 28 days without a Premier League fixture, Jurgen Klopp returned to the dugout with an all-action 3-3 draw against Brighton at Anfield, but having had the best part of a month to assess exactly what had gone wrong during an opening period that had veered between the ordinary and the awful, the Reds were unable to rid themselves of the same deficiencies that had plagued them before the break.
The widespread theory that nearly a month away from the top-flight rigours would help recharge the batteries is one bathed in hope rather than expectation it seems. For large parts of this game, it was the same old listless Liverpool, as far as this season goes anyway.
