If Jurgen Klopp thought things couldn’t get any worse for Liverpool after the evisceration at the Emirates, then one glance into the eyes of his physio told him differently.
Three more injuries, three more major problems. For all the self-inflicted wounds of this season, the biggest single factor in a startling collapse has been a series of injuries that have decimated his team.
Problems for Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip take the tally so far - with the Premier League just eight matches in - well into double figures. At this stage of the campaign, that is not just alarming, it is terrifying. It suggests something has gone wrong with the pre-season. A workload either too heavy given the intensity of last season, or more likely one too light, given the rigours of English football.
Klopp already paid a heavy price when he saw a midfield pool of nine reduced to three available just after the start of the campaign. The absence of Naby Keita and Curtis Jones is more keenly felt than people realise, given the tactical options both provided.
The loss of Thiago was perhaps the most significant on the opening day of the season, given his replacements were both - and still are - sidelined. Injury to Jordan Henderson meant the captain - clearly undercooked coming into the season - was playing catch up on his return, which led to an air of desperation around the squad.
Liverpool have never recovered, because momentum was lost and confidence frayed. Both are crucial factors in any successful side, and their absence explains more than Liverpool’s critics realise.
Yet now, with Diaz out until football returns at Christmas and Alexander-Arnold likely to be sidelined for several weeks, there has to be some brutal home truths digested at Anfield.
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The title is gone, that much is clear. There is no way this Manchester City side led by an unstoppable Erling Haaland is going to throw away 13 points, even if Liverpool miraculously string together a winning streak between now and the World Cup break (and yes, they don’t look remotely likely to).
So Klopp has to get real. He knows the first task in this and every season is to secure Champions League football with a top-four place. Even that looks like a stretch at the moment, but is by no means out of reach.
The second objective of a trophy means there must be an emphasis on the Champions League, to ensure they reach the sanctity of the knockout, which will begin in the New Year when momentum and confidence may have returned. A win in Glasgow and a point against Ajax should be enough, not only to ensure qualification, but also to offer some hope and belief amongst the fanbase, as much as the team.
Klopp will have to make some tough decisions. His strongest focus (and strongest lineup) must be reserved for Europe. So he must decide how best to utilise his resources in the coming weeks. They have 10 games in precisely a month before the World Cup break.
The loss of Alexander-Arnold and Diaz makes that much harder. Not only are they short in midfield, but now the strikers will be spread thinly. Klopp can use Carvalho as a replacement for Diaz, or even utilise Darwin Nunez on the left, or he could put Diogo Jota there, so there are some options. Yet that places a huge workload on Mo Salah, and the Reds boss can’t afford to lose him.
Perhaps his toughest decision will revolve around when to give the misfiring forward the rest he needs. Not in Glasgow, surely, but why not against City in a game that is now a free hit, given the dominance of Pep Guardiola’s side?
Forest away and Leeds at home also offer opportunities to rotate, as does the EFL Cup and - the manager will hope - the final Champions League group game at home to Napoli, if they are already through.
Looking at the fixture list, it is more manageable after October 29 should they not require a result against Napoli, so there are 19 days when he must get the best out of his stretched resources. And perhaps the injuries are, if not a blessing in disguise, then at least a ‘needs must’ moment. Liverpool must get results, and with less options, it can perhaps persuade Klopp to be more pragmatic in his approach.
Matip’s injury means the energy and aggression of Ibrahima Konate will return to the starting line up, and given the lack of that in so many performances this season, that can only be a good thing.
Perhaps Alexander-Arnold too, will benefit from being taken out of the firing line, given the ridiculous amount of scrutiny he has been under. For a side that has been almost universally poor throughout, the singular focus on one man has been almost baffling.
His passing will be acutely missed, but it could offer a reset for a troubled defence, a chance to get back to basics, and maybe to grind out a few clean sheets…or at least the hope of them. Keeping shape and discipline at the back may be slightly easier if there are less demands going forward.
Diaz has perhaps been the only consistent performer this season, but even with him, there has been a tendency to rely too much on his individual skills, at the expense of the collective effort. Other players will have to step up. Together. And that offers Klopp the chance to emphasise his fundamentals of team ethic above everything else.
It is the only route towards saving what threatens to be a miserable campaign. Of all the things that have been lost this season, the most precious is that sense of togetherness, which has seen this great side through so many tough times, and delivered so much glory.
The manager has maybe his toughest task to date. To instil that all-for-one ethic again, which means no individual is exposed in his team unit. Circumstances may just have inadvertently offered him the route towards that.
