If Liverpool thought that the woes over the past few weeks represented the nadir of their current troubles, Saturday's chastening defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers sank their calamitous campaign to new depths.

In the third meeting between the respective Premier League outfits since the turn of the year, the Old Gold finally got their victory after drawing at Anfield in the FA Cup and narrowly losing the replay at Molineux.

On both occasions, Julen Lopetegui's team were unfortunate not to earn a better result, with the clash on Merseyside only leading to a replay after a contentious VAR call late into the second half chalked off a legitimate Wolves goal.

For Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, his stricken side are now in murky, uncharted waters, languishing in tenth place without a league victory in 2023 and a daunting 13 points behind free-flowing Manchester United in the top four.

The lethargy and disorganisation from the beleaguered Liverpool squad encapsulated all that has gone wrong, with the offensive efforts blunt and dull and the defensive cohesion devoid of all sense of fluidity.

At the epicentre of today's torrid display were the central defensive partnership of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, with established first-choice pairing Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate both currently confined to the treatment room.

Despite Matip's dreadful start, turning Hwang Hee-chan's cross into Alisson's net in the first five minutes, it was Gomez who was particularly overwhelmed by the intensity of the Wolves attack.

While it was indeed Matip who registered the own goal, Gomez's inability to prevent the initial danger opened the door to another poor start, with his lack of communication with his goalkeeper and failure to impose his authority playing a part in the following two goals which cemented the defeat.

While he completed 90% of his passes (as per Sofascore), the £85k-per-week defender lost possession ten times and made just one tackle despite the home team's pressure, picking up a yellow card in the second half for a bad foul on Raul Jimenez.

In his 26th appearance of the season, the 25-year-old looked devoid of confidence and former robustness, winning just one of his last five Premier League matches from a starting role.

Former Liverpool centre-back and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher tore into the performance of the Reds' defenders, branding them "shambolic" for failing to exude any sense of stability or presence in a time of desperation for the Merseyside club.

There seems to be no respite for this Liverpool side lacking even the slightest morsel of their previous swagger and vigour; and if Gomez - lamented for making a "mistake a game" by one football content creator - continues to turn in displays such as his subpar showing at Molineux, the grim times look set to continue for the Anfield faithful.