James Milner has insisted Liverpool will bounce back from their humiliating 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa and admitted his side must do much better if they are to defend their Premier League title.
The Reds were stunned by a rampant Villa as an Ollie Watkins hat-trick helped the home side to a famous victory.
Liverpool will have to wait until after the international break in order to avenge the embarrassment - and they will have the perfect occasion in which to do so in the Merseyside derby when they take on bitter rivals Everton on October 17.
Milner took to Instagram on Monday morning to issue a rallying cry to his teammates along with an apology to supporters.
He posted a picture of himself and Mo Salah in deep discussion at Villa Park along with the caption: "Nowhere near the level needed yesterday. We need to stand up, take everything on the chin, stick together and bounce back...and we will," along with the hashtag 'YNWA'.
The post generally received a positive reaction, with fans getting behind Milner's words and urging for calm despite the shock result.
The loss was Liverpool's heaviest in Premier League history, with Villa also becoming the first team since Tottenham in 1963 to score seven past the Reds.
It concluded a poor week for Jurgen Klopp's side after they were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Arsenal on penalties, and the manager admitted his side 'lost the plot' in the game.
When asked about the reasons behind his team's poor performance, Klopp said: "I can't explain, I'm not sure, but I can tell you what I saw.
"Absolutely unexpected but it happened. For me we put all of our rubbish things, mistakes, in one game.
"Last week Mr [Roy] Keane said it was sloppy. It was not sloppy tonight it was just bad.
"I have to admit that but I cannot change it now.
"I would love to have a training session tomorrow and speak about but the boys go out with the national team."
