Liverpool slumped to their seventh Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday as they were well-beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0.
Joel Matip diverted the ball into his own goal after five minutes when he failed to deal with Hwang Hee-Chan's drilled cross into the area and seven minutes later January signing Craig Dawson slammed home from close range to double the hosts' lead.
Ruben Neves completed the scoring in the second half to pile the misery on Jurgen Klopp's side, who now sit 11 points off the Champions League places and face a desperate fight to catch fourth-placed Newcastle United in the weeks and months ahead.
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Liverpool host Merseyside rivals Everton, who claimed their first win of the post-Frank Lampard era by beating Arsenal on Saturday, next Monday.
But, for now, here's how the national media, plus our own Paul Gorst, reacted to the Molineux horror show.
Riath Al-Samarrai, Daily Mirror - "This was a hiding"
"For make no mistake, this was a hiding. Klopp says it wasn’t but it was. True, Liverpool got better after what he called the ‘misery’ of the opening 12 minutes, but had it been 5-0 it would not have been overly cruel or unusual," writes Al-Samarrai.
"That is a tremendous reflection on Wolves, it should be said. Julen Lopetegui was given fortunes to spend in January and this was a good repayment of faith for a club who opened the day in the muck of a relegation fight.
"As much as Liverpool were dire, Wolves were excellent. They found a broken door ajar and kicked it off the hinges – more performances like this and they will pull it off.
"But Liverpool? Here, they were a shambles from the start, which has become something of a recurring observation around a side that statistically and anecdotally has been the worst out of the blocks of any in the division this season."
Gary Rose, BBC Sport - "Nightmare start"
"If a 3-0 loss at Brighton last month felt like a significant low, then this 3-0 defeat at Molineux was arguably worse," writes Rose. "After all, the Seagulls are chasing a top-seven finish while Wolves started Saturday in the relegation zone.
"This latest defeat also marked the first time since 2012 that Liverpool have lost three successive away games in the Premier League. Since the turn of the year, they have conceded nine goals in four games and scored just one - hardly ideal form with the Merseyside derby up next.
"For Klopp, the damage done against Wolves was self-inflicted with a dreadful opening. The home side, energetic and confident from the outset, capitalised on Liverpool's lethargic start to take the lead after five minutes. Hwang Hee-chan was allowed to get in behind on the right and his drilled cross deflected off Joel Matip into the back of the net.
"While there was an element of bad luck about the opener, awful defending led to the second goal seven minutes later as Liverpool failed to clear inside their own box, allowing Wolves debutant Craig Dawson to drive in.
"Those mistakes led to goals, but there were plenty of other examples of error-ridden play by Liverpool in that nightmare start."
Paul Gorst, Liverpool ECHO - "The glory days are gone, for now."
"Few would have predicted its end to have come here, in the heart of the Black Country, at the halfway point of a Premier League campaign. But there can be little doubt now that a squad that won every top level trophy in football between June 2019 and May 2022 has reached the end of its shelf life," writes Gorst.
"The glory days are gone, for now. The rebuild must be significant. It must be backed by massive investment. And, most crucially, it must be led by Klopp.
"The German is suffering through his worst period as Liverpool manager just now but he is undoubtedly the right man to steer the ship from choppy waters, even if Wolves fans took great delight in singing about the Reds boss being given his marching orders after another 3-0 loss on the road.
"Klopp can rebuild Liverpool but he simply must be afforded every possible luxury from those above him to be able to do that properly, whatever the ownership situation looks like by the summer. There can be no corner or cost-cutting and the manager will have to yield a ruthless side.
"Before that can really begin, however, Liverpool fans will be forced to stomach a few lean months of domestic action. Out of both cups and 10th in the division at full time, quite where they will land at the end of the campaign is anyone's guess. It won't be in the top four, though; Liverpool's best hope of Champions League football next season is to win the competition itself for a seventh time. With frequent conquerors Real Madrid to come later this month, it already looks like a daunting task."
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