It's extremely hard to believe that six-time European champions Liverpool, who stormed into three Champions League finals in the past five years, were actually flattered by a humiliating 4-1 defeat. But such was Napoli's utter dominance in what turned out to be a stunning one-sided affair that Jurgen Klopp's team could count themselves exceedingly fortunate to concede just four goals on a torrid night to forget in Italy.

More than a month into the new season, the English giants were defensively naive and toothless upfront as if they are still on vacation mode. No Liverpool side in the Klopp era has been so topsy-turvy, disorganized and haphazard. Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti's spirited players repeatedly ripped Liverpool's defense to shreds and were 3-0 up at the break. It could easily have been more as Napoli had missed a penalty, hit the goal-post, and had a shot cleared off the line.

Victor Osimhen could be forgiven for thinking that it was not his day as the Nigerian talisman failed to score despite being offered a host of glorious chances and limped off injured before the interval, but his teammates Piotr Zielinski, Andre-Frank Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone duly showed the way by getting on the scoresheet and helped Napoli become the first ever side to notch up four against Liverpool in a Champions League group fixture.

Luis Diaz grabbed a consolation goal for Liverpool after curling a brilliant finish into the far corner from outside the box, but it was too late for them to mount an unlikely comeback. All credit to Napoli, who were electric, audacious and full of vim and vigor throughout the clash.

In sharp contrast, it was possibly the worst European performance of Klopp's seven-year reign. The German tactician hooked Joe Gomez, who was ruthlessly bullied by Napoli strikers, at half-time, but this was not about the underperformance of one hapless defender. Virgil van Dijk was a shadow of his former self, Fabinho was disastrously off the pace, Trent Alexander-Arnold was unusually out of sorts, and James Milner, Liverpool's captain for the night, was horribly exposed.

The last time Klopp saw his side implode like this there were plenty of excuses such as a rather forbidding COVID-19 pandemic and serious injury problems. This time around, Klopp looked helpless and struggled to comprehend what had happened. Their early-season slump was alarmingly worrisome as they have won just two of their last seven games this season.

"I need time to say the right things because at the moment it's not 100 percent clear," observed Klopp after their latest setback. "The problems we had tonight were obvious. Number one, Napoli played a really good game and we played a really bad game. We just didn't play well enough, we were never compact."

"We have to reinvent ourselves, the basic things were not there," he added. "It is a difficult period, no doubt about that, but if you are not playing exceptionally well you still can defend on a really high level. We should be able to do that. At the minute we are in-between. If you concede a penalty after three minutes and then another after 10 minutes you cannot do that. It is a job to do. It is not that we have to invent a new kind of football but we have to improve. Everybody would be happy if we could play the stuff we used to play.

"Tonight was the least compact performance I saw from us for a long, long time. From any team in fact. Napoli were really good but we made it easy for them. We lost the ball in areas and the next situation was a counterattack. That should not happen."

Klopp insisted his tactics to play a high line against Napoli was not the reason for the heavy loss. "A high line is not a risk when you have pressure on the ball," he claimed. "If you don't have any pressure on the guy on the ball, yes it is a risk, but that is not normally the case. The problem is we never got close enough to put the opponent under pressure."

After the full-time whistle, Klopp felt the need to raise his hands in apology to the Liverpool fans who traveled all the way to Italy. "I know all the things they invest and it was a very disappointing night so I had to say sorry to them," he explained afterwards.

But in football, an apology is never good enough. Poor results equal the sack. Wednesday's brutal dismissal of Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who just won the Champions League last year, speaks volumes about the industry's lack of patience and tolerance.

When asked whether he feared following Tuchel's footsteps by losing his job, Klopp replied, "Not really but who knows?" If Liverpool's early-season stumble continues to show no sign of abating, another managerial casualty will surely be on the cards.