Liverpool boss Arne Slot has expressed his disappointment after his side's dire 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Reds had entered the showdown hoping to continue their resurgence after recent victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid.
But that didn't happen at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku all scoring to give Pep Guardiola's men all three points.
Liverpool were a shadow of their usual selves on the day, with Slot's men unable to cope with those wearing sky blue.
There was controversy in the first half when they were 1-0 down, however, with Virgil van Dijk having a goal disallowed after Andy Robertson was adjudged to have impeded Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Slot, when asked about the incident, didn't mince his words.
"It is difficult to give my view. It is obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made at least in my opinion," he fumed.
"He didn't interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed - City against Wolves last season.
Arne Slot cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as Man City thumped Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium | GETTY
Virgil van Dijk had a goal ruled out in Liverpool's defeat to Manchester City
|GETTY
"So it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it was offside. So there was clearly communication, but as I said that could have influenced the game in a positive way for us."
Slot did, however, admit that Liverpool didn't deserve anything from the match due to their flat performance on the day.
"Very difficult first half for us. You almost expect it when you go here - they were pressing us really high," he said.
"We struggled a lot in the first half. You were hoping to get to the end of the first half 1-0.
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Liverpool were flat on Sunday as Manchester City ran riot at the Etihad Stadium
|GETTY
"Then, of course, there was five-10 minutes influential to the game. Instead of going 1-1 or 2-1 it was 2-0 at half-time.
"First half, it was obvious that they were better than us.
"Set-pieces can make an difference - now we conceded 2-0 from a set-pieces. That was a fair reflection us being 2-0 down.
"The game went as it went we would have been lucky going 1-0 down in at half-time. So it has been an influential decision.
"You cannot predict how the second half would have gone. It was obvious and clear that City were the better team in the first half.
"They were dominating the game and they were better than us. We were having a lot of problems and trouble bringing the ball out from the back, so we lost it early and they started playing."
Van Dijk, meanwhile, also addressed the decision to disallow his goal.
"In football the officials are deciding the key decisions and we have to deal with it on the pitch," he stated.
Erling Haaland was on the scoresheet for Manchester City again as they crushed Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium
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"There is no point discussing this from my point of view. The reality is that we lost 3-0 and that is a big blow.
"It doesn't matter what I say [about the goal] because anything I say will be in the media and the whole international break will be about my comment on the decision.
"I just focus on the fact we lost. You guys can debate if it should have stood.
"The first half was difficult and they were much more comfortable on the ball and it was difficult for our guys to put pressure on them.
"I don't think there was a lot of danger, but Doku had a good game and it was difficult for Conor [Bradley] in the one on one at times. I don't think we were much in trouble but we could have done better.
"We had to dig deep in the second half. We got more momentum in possession but out pressing wasn't good enough.
"It's about finding consistency and carrying on. Now we go to our countries, stay fit and be ready for a big run after. We are not going to give up whatsoever. We are in November and we are ready for a long season and a big fight."