It is fast becoming one of the most freakish results in Premier League history.
But not without chance are Liverpool already forcing people to look back on their 7-2 shellacking at Villa Park last month with a certain sense of disbelief.
There were, of course, reasons at the time. Alisson Becker suffered injury on the eve of the game, Sadio Mane had joined Thiago Alcantara in self-isolating after a positive coronavirus test, Jordan Henderson wasn't fit enough to start and as well as Aston Villa played, fortune favoured the hosts with three deflected goals.
Nobody, though, could argue the Midlanders hadn't deserved to win by a handsome margin, albeit perhaps not one that inflicted Liverpool's heaviest defeat in almost 60 years.
However, the microscopic scrutiny in the wake of such an earth-shattering result suggested something was very wrong with Jurgen Klopp's side.
After all, it meant they had shipped 26 goals in 14 games since clinching the title, having conceded the same amount in their previous 30 - and five of those were by the under-23 team in the League Cup thrashing at Villa Park.
For a side boasting the Premier League's best defence in each of the previous two seasons, it was a troubling trend.
Then, within 10 minutes of their next game at Everton, Virgil van Dijk picked up a knee injury that will most likely keep him out for the season. From bad to worse.
But how Liverpool have since responded defensively to their Villa Park battering deserves credit.
The clean sheet in Sunday's 3-0 win over Leicester City, while only their second in nine top-flight games this season, meant the Reds have conceded only five in eight since shedding the seven at Villa.
It is made all the more remarkable given the tumult prompted by seemingly never-ending injury and selection woes.
Ask any self-respecting manager for the key to a stingy backline, and they'll reply with the same answer - a settled defence.
But the centre-back partnership of Joel Matip and Fabinho that quelled Jamie Vardy and company was Liverpool's sixth different pairing in those eight games.
The Reds were also without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker for the first two matches in that run.
Matters have been no less consistent in front of the back four, with six different midfield combinations having been used, along with three separate starting formations.
The defence, though, has had to step up with Van Dijk and then, two weeks ago, Joe Gomez being sidelined.
Interestingly, of the defensive options available to Klopp on Sunday, five of them - Matip, James Milner and homegrown trio Neco Wiliams, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips - cost no transfer fee.
Left-back duo Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas were bought for £20million between them while the most expensive player, £39.3m man Fabinho, is a midfielder by trade.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, another brought through the ranks for no fee, is the only player set to return in the coming weeks, meaning Klopp will now have to mix and match accordingly from those nine, with the added complication of Phillips being ineligible for the Champions League.
Indeed, it's asking a lot for Matip, Milner and the fit-again Fabinho to play three games a week, while Robertson is surely due a breather.
Finding the right balance won't be easy, with further occasional defensive absences increasingly likely given the intense schedule before the transfer window opens in January.
While Liverpool take pride in defending and pressing from the front - albeit with some subtle and required tweaks in recent weeks - the backline ultimately bears responsibility for keeping out opponents.
Balancing his resources until possible reinforcement in the New Year will be key to Klopp ensuring his team stay in the hunt for honours - and further banish the memory of that Villa Park horror in the process.
