Virgil van Dijk described the performance as “predictable” and said that his manager had a few choice words for the team afterwards.

“Yeah he was angry. Of course,” Van Dijk said. “He had every right because we played poorly.

“That was already the case in the first half. In the second half, maybe there was more urgency, but it still wasn’t good enough.

“He had every right to be angry. We have to pretty quickly turn this into full focus on Friday [against Wolves in the FA Cup]. That’s our responsibility, physically and mentally.”

Telegraph Sport examines the six fundamental errors that were made by Slot’s side at Molineux.

Lack of intensity

Liverpool barely created a chance in the first half, which was one of the more uneventful halves of the entire Premier League campaign. Slot’s team had plenty of possession before the break but they produced nothing of note in the final third.

Jeremie Frimpong’s wild strike over the crossbar, and Mohamed Salah’s inability to convert an early opportunity created by Van Dijk, summarised their flimsy attacking efforts.

In midfield, it was often Wolves players who emerged from duels with the ball. João Gomes, in particular, was dominant in central areas. By contrast Ryan Gravenberch, his opposite number, was substituted at half-time after committing four fouls and earning a booking.

Gakpo’s remarkable miss

After such a dismal first-half performance, Liverpool at least showed more purpose at the start of the second period. They had the simplest of goalscoring chances after 51 minutes, when the ball looped towards substitute Curtis Jones at the back post.

Just as Jones was about to chest the ball into the net, from barely one yard out, his team-mate Cody Gakpo stretched out his leg. Evidently unaware that Jones was inches from scoring, Gakpo not only took the ball away from his team-mate but also, somehow, diverted it directly up and onto the crossbar.

It was a truly extraordinary moment, completely unrepeatable and almost inexplicable.