Much of Liverpool's early-season optimism drained away as familiar weaknesses and a lack of squad depth were exposed in a 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.
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The club ended the day level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, but Dejan Lovren's simple set-piece goal and Liverpool's failure to land a telling blow of their own told a different story.
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It is a familiar tale for Liverpool fans who over recent years have become used to seeing their team fritter away periods of good form by flattering to deceive against a team they were expected to beat.
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Premature talk of a potential title challenge was silenced and replaced with commonly heard questions about whether they have a squad capable of sustaining a charge for a top-four spot and Champions League qualification.
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"We've been unfortunate to lose a number of injured players all at the same time," manager Brendan Rodgers told reporters in mitigation.
The loss wasn't something I was expecting at all. Liverpool dissappointed their fans big time I must say....