Even Kenny Dalglish was never humiliated like this.
As mocking West Bromwich fans chanted the name of the former Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers squirmed uncomfortably on the touchline watching his new charges taken apart by a squad tipped in some quarters for relegation.
And to add to the embarrassment, the mastermind behind Albion’s great victory was Steve Clarke, Dalglish’s good mate who was also shown the door at Anfield this summer to make way for the Rodgers revolution.
Those thousands of Liverpool fans who travelled to The Hawthorns with great optimism will this morning fear the Champions League is even further away than last season, when Dalglish was jettisoned by hard-faced owner John W Henry for finishing 17 points off a top-four finish.
For Albion, there was unbridled joy, with Zoltan Gera celebrating his return from a serious cruciate injury by smashing in the opener.
Liverpool, who played well enough in the first half without hurting Albion, capitulated.
Daniel Agger conceded a penalty and was sent off. And though Pepe Reina saved a weak effort from Shane Long, Martin Skrtel then tripped the same player to give West Bromwich a second spot-kick.
This time Peter Odemwingie nearly broke the back of the net and celebrated by stuffing the ball up his jersey as a good-luck message to his pregnant wife.
Poor Rodgers was even forced to send on as damage limitation Andy Carroll, the centre-forward he is so keen to get rid of. And things would not have got any easier when he walked off the pitch to hear that the club he left in the summer, Swansea, had won 5-0.
Rodgers described the final scoreline as ‘harsh’ and felt the turning point arrived when Agger chased Long and the Republic of Ireland striker collapsed to the turf after the gentlest of touches.
“The sending-off killed us,” he said. “An appeal is certainly something we will look into. I’m not going to go on about referees but I don’t think either were penalties. They were harsh.
“I know Shane Long very well and he is a big strong boy.
“Our players will be hurting over the result. We had good control and rhythm in the first half and it looked as if we would get the first goal.”
Inevitably, Clarke had a different view. “There was contact for both penalties. Shane is an honest player.
“Overall, I thought Liverpool were under more pressure than us, and it showed.
“I’ve no axe to grind with Liverpool. I’d be just as happy beating any team like that. We spent the week talking about what we could do to them.”
Liverpool roared out of the traps and Luis Suarez was a whirl of clever twists and turns as he twice tested Ben Foster. But he was also isolated at times, with Fabio Borini, Stewart Downing and Steve Gerrard slow to support. And Liverpool paid the price when Skrtel cleared a corner to Gera, who needed only one touch to control before dispatching the perfect half-volley into the ‘postage stamp’ of the top corner.
The Hungarian’s exuberant celebrations were understandable – this was his first game since seriously damaging his knee in November.
Until that point, Liverpool had scored well for artistic impression, with debutant Joe Allen pulling the strings.
But they also looked flimsy in both areas, something that cost Dalglish his job despite reaching two cup finals.
Suarez must have unleashed half-a-dozen shots and was booked for dissent as his frustration grew.
And it was a horror story at the other end, too, as Long got goalside of Agger and waited for the Dane to gently shove him in the back, which he duly did.
Long’s penalty was tame but after Downing had been sacrificed for Jamie Carragher, Skrtel left his foot in and Long tumbled over for another penalty, converted by Odemwingie Liam Ridgewell then crossed for Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku to head a third on his Baggies debut and from then on only Reina kept the score down, with one fine save in particular to deny Marc Antoine Fortune.
Carroll’s only contribution was to threaten a scrap with Ridgewell until wisely dragged away by Gerrard. And substitute Joe Cole suffered a suspected hamstring pull.
It made for a sobering start for Rodgers, who is under no illusions one game into his Premier League career at Liverpool.
“It is all very well talking about patience but you have to win games,” he acknowledged. Next up, Manchester City. – Daily Mail