Liverpool had a Saturday to forget in the Premier League as they were beaten by a last-gasp Bournemouth winner.
The Reds came into the weekend looking good after recording an easy Champions League victory away to Marseille on Wednesday.
However, the fanbase was rocked two days later with the news that Andy Robertson could leave to join Tottenham Hotspur by the end of the January transfer window.
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Who was Liverpool’s worst player as they fell to a pathetic loss against Bournemouth?
Mohamed Salah chases the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
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Robertson’s exit would further deplete Liverpool in defensive areas, and would anger supporters who have been frustrated at the lack of new winter additions.
Easily the most galling moment of the window so far was seeing former Liverpool target Marc Guehi move to Manchester City unopposed on Monday. And to cap off what has been a difficult few days for the Reds, City boss Pep Guardiola raved about what he’d seen from Guehi on his debut on Saturday.
Marc Guehi excels on Manchester City debut
City pushed the accelerator on a move for Guehi after seeing both Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol go down with injuries this month.
And the former Crystal Palace captain went straight into the starting XI for Saturday’s fixture against Wolves.
Mac Guehi receives instructions from Pep Guardiola during Manchester City's Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium
Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
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Hours later, Liverpool would be forced to field Wataru Endo out of position at centre-back following injury to Joe Gomez, and Guardiola’s post-match comments on Guehi only deepened the sense that the Reds have made an almighty mistake in letting him join their Premier League rivals.
“He knows everything,” said the City manager. “I remember it is similar to when Ruben [Dias] arrived and he had incredible focus for every action.
“He’s not come for six months, he’s come for many years. He’s the perfect age and he’s the perfect signing for many, many years. He’s a guy you can rely on. I’ve seen it in two sessions. How he sees, how he moves, how he talks, how he reads the situations.”
Who should be Liverpool’s top centre-back target after missing out on Marc Guehi?
Micky van de Ven pictured during Tottenham Hotspurs' Premier League match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park (Credit: Getty Images/Sebastian Frej).
Alessandro Bastoni warms up ahead of the Serie A match between Inter Milan and Torino at San Siro Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Marco Luzzani).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Sebastian Frej/Marco Luzzani
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Although Endo played well at centre-back against Bournemouth, there was a sense that Liverpool had been immediately left to rue their mistakes over Guehi on Saturday.
Ultimately, they never really had a chance of signing the England international in January, but they really should have tied the deal up last summer.
Had they done so, there is a logical argument that they would not be in the mess they are currently.
Guehi would not have fixed everything, but he could have stepped in to provide a quality option when Ibrahima Konate was really struggling and could even have allowed Virgil van Dijk the odd rest to preserve the captain’s fitness.
Now Liverpool must move on, but it was poignant that on the day Guehi made his first appearance for City, the Reds’ own centre-back issues deepened even further. Guardiola knows it, and he is right to be delighted by his January buy.
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