Craig Dawson scored on his debut following his January move from West HamLiverpool's torrid season continued as they slumped to defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who boosted their Premier League survival hopes with a big victory.
The Reds were aiming to avoid losing a third successive Premier League away match for the first time since 2012, but fell behind after just five minutes when Hwang Hee-chan's cross deflected off Joel Matip into the Liverpool net.
It got worse for Jurgen Klopp's side just seven minutes later as poor defending allowed Craig Dawson to mark his debut with a goal, driving in from close range.
Liverpool managed just one shot on target in a dreadful first-half display, but came out with more fight after the break.
Andy Robertson had a goalbound shot blocked and Mohamed Salah clipped a decent effort just wide of the post, before Darwin Nunez drove straight at Jose Sa as Wolves dropped further back.
But the hosts soaked up the pressure before hitting their opponents on the counter-attack, Ruben Neves finishing after great work by Adama Traore.
Victory moves Wolves out of the relegation zone up to 15th, while Liverpool remain 10th.
Liverpool's woes continue
After taking the Premier League title race to the final day last season, few could have predicted the level of drop-off in Liverpool's performances.
The Reds started the day 21 points off the top of the table having yet to taste victory in the Premier League in 2023.
A solid draw against Chelsea in their last league outing showed promise, but their performance in the first half of this game was as bad as they have produced in this hugely disappointing campaign.
Fabinho had been dropped by Klopp as he looked to stop the rot, but few of the starting XI emerged from the first 45 minutes with much credit and looked lethargic.
The Reds were better after the break, but by then the damage was done and this latest away defeat leaves them clinging on to a place in the top half of the table.
More to follow.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers
Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
Squad number15Player nameDawson
Squad number23Player nameKilman
Squad number3Player nameAït-Nouri
Squad number11Player nameHwang Hee-chan
Squad number8Player nameRúben Neves
Squad number5Player nameLemina
Squad number27Player nameMatheus Nunes
Squad number21Player nameSarabia
Squad number12Player nameMatheus Cunha
Squad number9Player nameJiménez
Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
Squad number19Player nameJonny
Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
Squad number37Player nameTraoré
Line-ups
Wolves
Formation 4-4-2
1Sá
22Nélson Semedo15Dawson23Kilman3Aït-Nouri
11Hwang Hee-chan8Neves5Lemina27Nunes
21Sarabia12Santos Carneiro Da Cunha
1Sá22Nélson Semedo15DawsonBooked at 45mins23Kilman3Aït-NouriSubstituted forCastro Ottoat 84'minutes11Hwang Hee-chanSubstituted forTraoréat 42'minutes8Neves5LeminaSubstituted forPodenceat 83'minutes27Nunes21SarabiaSubstituted forJoão Moutinhoat 60'minutes12Santos Carneiro Da CunhaSubstituted forJiménezat 60'minutesSubstitutes
4Collins9Jiménez10Podence19Castro Otto25Bentley28João Moutinho37Traoré59Hodge64BuenoLiverpool
Formation 4-3-3
1Alisson
66Alexander-Arnold32Matip2Gomez26Robertson
8Keïta43Bajcetic6Thiago Alcántara
11Salah27Núñez18Gakpo
1Alisson66Alexander-Arnold32Matip2GomezBooked at 75mins26RobertsonSubstituted forTsimikasat 86'minutes8KeïtaSubstituted forHendersonat 65'minutes43BajceticSubstituted forElliottat 77'minutes6Thiago AlcántaraSubstituted forMilnerat 85'minutes11Salah27Núñez18GakpoSubstituted forOxlade-Chamberlainat 85'minutesSubstitutes
7Milner14Henderson15Oxlade-Chamberlain17Jones19Elliott21Tsimikas28Carvalho47Phillips62KelleherReferee:Paul TierneyAttendance:31,664Live Text
Match ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 3, Liverpool 0.
Second Half ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 3, Liverpool 0.
Corner, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Conceded by James Milner.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Maximilian Kilman.
Attempt blocked. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Konstantinos Tsimikas.
Attempt missed. Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Adama Traoré with a through ball following a fast break.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Craig Dawson.
Substitution, Liverpool. Konstantinos Tsimikas replaces Andrew Robertson.
Substitution, Liverpool. James Milner replaces Thiago.
Substitution, Liverpool. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Cody Gakpo.
Attempt blocked. Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joël Matip.
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jonny replaces Rayan Aït-Nouri.
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Daniel Podence replaces Mario Lemina because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Mario Lemina (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Mario Lemina (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Attempt missed. Raúl Jiménez (Wolverhampton Wanderers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Maximilian Kilman.
Substitution, Liverpool. Harvey Elliott replaces Stefan Bajcetic.
Offside, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Maximilian Kilman tries a through ball, but Raúl Jiménez is caught offside.
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