Darwin Nunez didn't expect it, Cody Gakpo wasn't entirely surprised and Ibrahima Konate quickly realised it was completely different.
Plying your trade in the Premier League is not always the easiest for those who haven't experienced it before. And the travails outlined by the aforementioned trio highlight a transfer issue that has become apparent at Liverpool in recent times.
Since winning the Champions League in 2019, only three of Liverpool's 21 signings had previous experience of playing in the top flight in England, two of whom - Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho - had managed mere minutes while with Fulham. Diogo Jota is the only player to have arrived with extensive knowledge of the Premier League.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola has already hinted at what Man City's biggest 'punishment' could be
READ MORE: Fabio Carvalho makes Liverpool midfield point and reveals Jurgen Klopp advice
This, of course, is nothing new in comparison to the Reds' rivals, who regularly bring in players from abroad. Quality, which often costs, makes a big difference - after all, a great player is usually great in every league.
But where it differs is to how Liverpool initially bolstered their squad under Jurgen Klopp. Sadio Mane, Gini Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil van Dijk all became integral team members having already accrued hundreds of Premier League appearances between them.
Even most of the exceptions during that period have gone some way to underlining the point. As a goalkeeper, Alisson Becker is largely protected from the greater intensity, even if it took him a little while to grow accustomed to the increased lack of protection from officials. Fabinho didn't get off the bench until the ninth Premier League game of his debut season, such was his obvious acclimatisation period. And, almost five years on, the jury remains out on whether Naby Keita has ever truly adapted.
Not everyone can make an instant impact such as Luis Diaz, whose ability to hit the ground running when stepping in last January is increasingly looking an outlier. But there are myriad reasons as to why Liverpool haven't often turned to the Premier League for reinforcements in recent times, with availability and cost chief among them.
At Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, three players - Nunez, Gakpo and Stefan Bajcetic - hadn't played in the top flight before the start of the season.
Gakpo, who signed in January from PSV Eindhoven, and Bajcetic, who made his first Premier League start only last month, are at the start of their respective journeys. But a glance at the number of top-flight starts from those players signed over the last 18 months or so underlines why the Reds' evolution has found it difficult to gain pace this season - and why the acclimatisation period is perhaps taking longer than expected.
Diaz has the most with 18 before his season was decimated by a knee injury from which he is yet to return. Next is Konate, who in a season-and-a-half has managed only 15 Premier League starts, highlighting both his adaptation and continued injury problems - only four of those starts have come this campaign.
Nunez has been in the XI for only 11 of Liverpool's 20 Premier League games this term, while Calvin Ramsay hasn't managed any. Fabio Carvalho has four, to go with the three he managed at Fulham. Gakpo has so far totalled three.
"It's a very big change," says Nunez. "Here, the league is stronger, more competitive. I didn't expect it to be so strong. Nico Otamendi (the former Manchester City defender and his team-mate at Benfica) told me that, but I still didn't expect it.
"It has impressed me a lot. There are no bad teams. They are all in this league for a reason. The football is more difficult than in Portugal and more competitive. You don't get much time."
Gakpo agrees there is a clear difference. "The tempo of the game and the speed of the game is higher here than back in Holland, but that gives the attackers a lot of possibilities to score," he says. "The speed is the most different thing. What I saw on TV when I was watching Liverpool was a lot of quality and that's what I'm seeing now I'm here. It's not really a surprise."
And speaking early last season, Konate said: "The Premier League is not the same as German football. The intensity is different and you have a lot of big players here. It is not easy."
Liverpool's chief summer target, England midfielder Jude Bellingham, has never played in the Premier League before having spent much of his professional career in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. But his regular outings in the Champions League and international tournaments with England, not to mention his time in the Championship with Birmingham City, shouldn't make it an issue.
But links with Chelsea's Mason Mount and Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo suggest the Reds are once again looking to the Premier League for their next iteration. After all, it provided the springboard for the first great team under Klopp.
READ NEXT:
Jurgen Klopp needs clarity from FSG to help solve glaring Liverpool problem
RedBird Capital not in talks over upping FSG stake after Liverpool claims
What Jurgen Klopp has said about Man City as Premier League charges confirmed
Liverpool given surprising Premier League top four prediction by 'supercomputer'
How Man City could be punished if found guilty of alleged breaches as Liverpool watch on
