Anyone searching for just how troubling these times are for Liverpool just now found all the evidence they needed after 77 minutes here at the London Stadium.

The scene was Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp, the two people who have perhaps done more than any other pair to thrust greatness upon Liverpool in recent years, arguing on the sidelines as the opposition celebrated a goal.

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Having risen to global stardom under the careful guidance of his world-class manager, it was a jarring image to see Salah so forcibly at loggerheads with Klopp and the situation was made even more surreal by the sight of famed firebrand Darwin Nunez acting as peacemaker.

With Klopp now into his final weeks ahead of Arne Slot’s appointment and a major question hanging over Salah’s next move, given he has close to just 12 months left on his contract, it was, sadly, a crystallising moment of how this is all coming to a close under the current boss.

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Having been unceremoniously dropped from the team after Wednesday's limp defeat at Everton, there could be no disguising Salah or Nunez's benching here as a resting.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to pan out and the Klopp era is limping to a sad end that is so out of sync with the joyous scenes it will eventually be remembered for.

In an otherwise uneventful first half, Liverpool actually started slightly brighter than their damaging habits suggested they might but were still unable to really create any gilt-edged chances after five changes were made with few complaints following Wednesday night’s Goodison nightmare.

But even against a side who were playing in the lower gears in a flat, Saturday lunchtime atmosphere, the Reds still gifted the first goal of the contest to their opponents once more.

Areola continued to be worked, mainly through Diaz, who was one of three withdrawn after the pitch-side spat that has since been played down by Klopp and, if anything, talked up by Salah.
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