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Liverpool U21s were beaten 3-0 by West Ham United on a frustrating outing for Rob Page's side that went wrong even before the match kicked off in East London.
The young Reds only arrived at the stadium half an hour before the game was scheduled to kick off (and around 55 minutes before it actually started) because of heavy congestion.
Just like the traffic, they struggled to get going when the fixture kicked off. Key men didn't perform at both ends of the field, with West Ham fully deserving of the three points.
In a first half of few chances, Kornel Misciur made a big save from a one-versus-one with George Earthy. A couple of minutes later, Kieran Morrison skied a shot over the bar after good work from Kaide Gordon.
Gordon, Trent Kone-Doherty and Calvin Ramsay, who have played well at this level lately, were largely anonymous and struggled to make much of an impact.
Morrison, who turns 19 later this week and made his first-team debut in the Anfield defeat to Crystal Palace in the League Cup, was another one who frustrated at times and couldn't find much in the way of end product.
Amara Nallo captained Liverpool against the team that he signed from in 2023. He has played twice at the senior level so far under Arne Slot and was sent off on both occasions.
Things didn't go well here for him either. Nallo gifted the opening goal to Callum Marshall when he lost the ball inside his own penalty area. He was tackled, and the ball beat Misciur, who could also have done better.
Former Chelsea talent Josh Ajala dribbled past a couple of Liverpool players and fired the ball into the far corner to double the West Ham lead, before Mohamadou Kante smashed home a third. It was all far too easy.
Late on, Ramsay brought down Jethro Medine inside the penalty area and the winger stepped up from the spot. Misciur made a good save to stop West Ham from going even further in front.
Keyrol Figueroa has seven goals in Premier League 2 but he was taken off at half-time. It remains to be seen whether he is injured, or whether his minutes were simply being managed.
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Figueroa, who spoke to Liverpool.com last month after scoring a hat-trick against Everton, has been in strong form lately, but has played a lot of minutes. If fit, he will have to go again in just a few days.
After facing Chesterfield Town in the Vertu Trophy on Tuesday, Liverpool U21s are not scheduled to be back in action until January 18, when they take on Arsenal.
Page and his team are expected to book in some friendlies, however, to keep them ticking over. Some players involved might be back with the first team again at some point, while others could make moves away on loan in the winter window.
Gordon and Ramsay, for instance, are expected to draw interest from elsewhere. Both players are ready for more senior experience, but are not going to get that regularly at Liverpool.
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