Mohamed Salah could barely conceal his disbelief.
The electronic board went up and there, in bright lights, was the number 11, the Egyptian given the hook after barely an hour by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Salah slowly trudged from the field, shaking his head at what was happening.
A little later, the Egyptian could be spotted sat in the stands, still graphically unable to come to terms with his removal.
Look, Salah wasn’t at his very best here against his former club. And perhaps there was credence to suggestions Klopp had been unhappy at the player’s reluctance to track back a few minutes before his substitution.
But the forward had been Liverpool’s most lively attacker as they struggled to find a way through Chelsea’s obdurate and well-drilled defence.
Certainly, he appeared by some distance the least likely of the triumvirate to be replaced, with Sadio Mane worryingly having another off night and Roberto Firmino completely out of sorts.
It didn’t take long for Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, to post a not-that-cryptic-really tweet in response to Klopp’s decision to remove his client.
While portraying what many were thinking, it was nevertheless rather unhelpful and will now spark debate over the player’s Anfield future where previously there hadn’t really been any.
That is a distraction the Reds could do without as they face up to the very real prospect of missing out on Champions League football and coping with the associated struggles – both in keeping hold of leading talent and further strengthening the squad – that brings.
Klopp might well argue that the decision to substitute Salah was merely a latest desperate throw of the dice.
After all, everything else the Reds have tried to end a wait for a home goal from open play that stretches to more than 10 hours – 618 minutes to be exact – simply hasn’t worked.
This dismal defeat has handed this Reds side the unwanted landmark of losing five successive home games for the first time in the club’s history.
The last time Chelsea had visited Anfield, Liverpool ended the game by lifting the Premier League title. That seems a long, long, long, long time ago right now.
