Where do Pool go from here?

History, the one thing that seemed to be on Liverpool’s side even in the worst of times, seems finally to have deserted Anfield.

For years the club’s rich past has made its failure to win a Premier League title just about bearable, even when rivals who ‘ain’t got no history’ were rubbing people’s noses in it. But on a night when Brendan Rodgers called on memories of European nights of old to inspire his players to become ‘legends’ themselves, the Liverpool muse took too long to answer.

A dramatic finale, in which Steven Gerrard rolled back the years to channel memories of Olympiakos in 2004-5, meant the Kop sung to the very end and there were no boos as Liverpool tumbled into the Europa League. But in the cold light of day this was a match that highlighted why the modern men of Anfield are struggling to hang on to their heritage.