Liverpool ended pre-season with a chastening 4-0 defeat to Jürgen Klopp's former club 1. FSV Mainz 05 over in Germany on Sunday afternoon.
Billed as Klopp's homecoming, the manager was given a sensational reception at a sold-out Opel Arena - but Mainz's sentiment ended there as they convincingly thrashed the Premier League side.
Andre Wisdom's handball allowed Daniel Brosinski to net from the spot after 15 minutes before Jhon Cordoba doubled the lead before half-time.
On the hour mark, substitute Yunus Malli found the net from long-range before Yoshinori Muto's header compiled the Reds' misery late on.
Weakened Liverpool side outplayed in the first-half
Less than 24 hours after their 4-0 demolition of Barcelona at Wembley Stadium, Klopp named the returning Joel Matip in his starting eleven.
Having not featured in three weeks, the centre-back started alongside Wisdom in the centre of defence as he bid to prove that he should start in their Premier League opener at Arsenal next Sunday.
Nine changes saw only Emre Can and Adam Lallana retain their starting spots, after both being withdrawn at half-time against Barca, with Academy youngsters Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn coming into the team.
16-year-old Woodburn lit up the Reds' pre-season tour on home soil earlier this summer, scoring twice and providing a number of impressive performances.
Half-time substitutes Jordan Henderson, Marko Grujic and Divock Origi also started from the outset with James Milner the only absentee from the full matchday squad after sustaining a heel injury which forced him off before the break yesterday.
The early stages saw the Mainz faithful laud Klopp with a vast array of chants and a much-changed Liverpool side could not quite the replicate the flying start they produced the day earlier.
After a slow start, it was Mainz who delivered the first blow when Wisdom slid in to block Jose Rodriguez's cross but the ball struck the defender's hand with the referee adjudging it worthy of a penalty.
Brosinski stepped up to the spot-kick and sent veteran goalkeeper Alex Manninger the wrong way to put the hosts ahead.
Hosts double their advantage on the verge of half-time
A furious Klopp bellowed instructions to his team on the touchline in the following minutes and his side appeared to near closer to the desired reaction as they began to knit together some good build-up.
But for all their approach play, Liverpool couldn't create many clear opportunities - Origi sent into space inside the box but firing over the crossbar after Grujic's through ball in their only real chance of the first 45 minutes.
That chance came at a cost, with Grujic going down after earlier looking to have sustained an ankle knock. He was soon replaced by Danny Ings and by half-time, Liverpool were 2-0 down.
After Alexander-Arnold lost possession in the middle of the pitch, Jhon Cordoba shrugged off the intentions off Matip before firing past Manninger from an angle to double Mainz's advantage.
Klopp made four changes at the break with Cameron Brannagan, Kevin Stewart, Connor Randall and debutant Toni Gomes replacing Alexander-Arnold, Can, Lallana and Woodburn.
But they failed to help change the game, with Martin Schmidt's Bundesliga maintaining dominance of the ball and enjoying much of the game's better play.
Mainz's dominance sees them extend lead
Their control was rewarded with a third on the hour mark when Yunus Malli strode forward and Matip's lack of closing allowed him to find the bottom corner from 20-yards.
Both sides continued to make changes, Sam Hart making his first senior appearance as he replaced Alberto Moreno at left-back, with Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum later also entering the fray.
But the fresh arrivals could not reverse the momentum as Liverpool instead conceded a fourth, Yoshinori Moto heading in from close-range on 75 minutes.
Ings had chances to at least score a consolation, nodding a header wide and having a goal harshly disallowed for offside, but he could not salvage any pride as Liverpool endured a day to forget and ended pre-season on a disappointing note.