Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool can forget about qualifying for next season's Champions League unless they find some consistency after Saturday's shock 2-1 home defeat to Leeds United.
Crysencio Summerville's 89th minute goal inflicted Liverpool's first home league loss in front of a crowd since April 2017, after Mohamed Salah had cancelled out Rodrigo's opener.
Liverpool have now lost twice as many games in the first 12 league games of this season as they did in 38 last season, and are 13 points behind Manchester City at the top of the table and eight adrift of the top four.
"We cannot qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistent as we do in the moment," said Klopp. "We have to fix that and then anything is possible."
For the second time in a week, Liverpool were beaten by a side that started the day in the relegation zone, following last weekend's defeat at Nottingham Forest.
Klopp again pointed the finger for his side's struggles this season on a series of injuries and a brutal schedule to make way for a mid-season World Cup.
"The situation is like it is. There is no excuse but we had problems from the first day with injuries or half-fit players. Some play too often, others play too early (after injury).
"It's not now for an overhaul, but you have to fight through and fight for momentum and confidence."
Leeds began the night second bottom of the table but climbed out of the relegation zone thanks to their first win in nine games. That winless run had left Jesse Marsch fighting to save his job.
"Everybody has made a big deal about firing me, but the board and I have been unified and we've stuck together," said the American.
"My feeling is that we shouldn't be in the situation we're in, but we are. I've tried to stay calm, but I've also tried to push. The players have stepped up big today."
Liverpool v Leeds player ratings
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LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 6. The Brazilian took responsibility for the opening goal but Gomez’s blind pass was the bigger issue. Liverpool defenders sometimes have too much confidence in their goalkeeper. AFP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5. The 24-year-old showed flashes of his attacking ability but was not his usual, dangerous self. His defending was adequate and he made way for Milner with 11 minutes to go. AFP -
Joe Gomez - 4. The 25-year-old started badly by gifting Leeds a goal and seemed not to regain confidence. No defender should pass backwards without checking the opposition. EPA -
Virgil van Dijk - 4. The Dutchman was lackadaisical. The margin between imperious and indolent is sometimes thin. He was on the wrong side of the line. AFP -
Andrew Robertson - 7. The Scot was the only Liverpool player who was anywhere near his best. He got up and down the line and provided the cross for Salah’s goal. Getty -
Fabinho - 3. You had better be producing a performance of heroic proportions if you are going to chide the crowd. The Brazilian tried to gee up the Kop despite being awful. He was replaced by Henderson in the 61st minute and no one was surprised. Getty -
Harvey Elliott - 4. The 19-year-old looked out of his depth. Youngsters have nights like this and need to be bailed out by more experienced teammates. He was left hanging and substituted for Jones in the 60th minute. EPA -
Roberto Firmino - 5. The Brazilian was in and out of the game. He linked play nicely and was foiled twice by Meslier in the closing stages. Getty -
Thiago Alcantara - 4. The 31-year-old's passing was off beam. His mobility was questionable, too, and he was easily bypassed by Leeds breaks. AFP -
Mohamed Salah - 6. The Egyptian scored the equaliser and showed signs of an understanding with Nunez. His teammates need to find a way of getting him the ball more often. AP -
Darwin Nunez - 5. The Uruguayan needs to lose his unfortunate knack of hitting the goalkeeper. He also needs to develop better decision-making. AFP -
SUBS: Curtis Jones (Elliot 60') - 5. The 21-year-old promised an immediate impact with his direct running but found too many blind allies. Getty -
Jordan Henderson (Fabinho 61') - 5. The 32-year-old found it hard to impose himself on the game. Getty -
James Milner (Alexander-Arnold 79') - N/A. The 36-year-old will be disappointed the winning goal came down his flank. AFP -
LEEDS PLAYER RATINGS: Illan Meslier - 8. The Frenchman made a succession of saves that kept his team in the game. Most of them were routine but the goalkeeper made things look easy. AFP -
Rasmus Kristensen - 7. The Dane provided an outlet going forward and Aaronson hit the bar from his dangerous cross. He had some nervous moments defensively but made up for it with a series of tackles and blocks. Reuters -
Robin Koch - 6. The German had his hands full with Nunez and sometimes looked less than secure. He rarely panicked, though, and stuck to his task. Reuters -
Liam Cooper - 5. The 31-year-old rode his luck. He got caught out of passion on occasion and could have been punished by more clinical finishing. Getty -
Pascal Struijk - 7. The 23-year-old had a daunting challenge against Salah but did his best to keep the Egyptian relatively quiet. This meant he did not get forward as much as Kristensen. EPA -
Tyler Adams - 7. The American worked relentlessly to ensure Liverpool could not dominate the midfield. His distribution was effective when his team were in possession. AFP -
Marc Roca - 6. The Spaniard found it hard to get a grip on the game in the first half. He improved after the break but his passing was far from perfect. Getty -
Jack Harrison - 5. The 25-year-old forced a first-half save from Alisson but too often failed to live up to his promise. He was replaced by Gnonto in the 72nd minute. PA -
Brenden Aaronson - 8. The American hit the woodwork and was at the centre of most of his side’s best work. He aimed to cause danger every time he picked up the ball. AP -
Crysencio Summerville - 7. The Dutchman spent much of the game looking out of his depth. He changed perceptions with his winning goal before being replaced by Ayling in stoppage time. AFP -
Rodrigo - 6. The Brazilian was the grateful recipient of Gomez’s error and opened the scoring. After that he could not carve out many chances and he made way for Bamford in the 52nd minute. Reuters -
SUBS: Patrick Bamford (Rodrigo 52') - 5. The 29-year-old's touch let him down when a big opportunity arose. AP -
Wilfried Gnonto (Harrison 72') - 6. The 18-year-old injected a burst of energy into the team. AFP -
Luke Ayling (Summerville 90+1') - N/A. The 31-year-old provided extra security in the closing moments of the game. EPA
Leeds could not have wished for a more generous gift from the hosts than for the opener after just four minutes.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker stumbled as he tried to reach Joe Gomez's backpass, allowing Rodrigo an easy finish into the unguarded net for the Spaniard's sixth goal of the season.
The lead did not last long as Salah levelled with his seventh goal in five games against Leeds by steering home Andy Robertson's cross on 14 minutes.
An unusually late Saturday night kick-off for the Premier League caused by Liverpool's Champions League commitments on Tuesday contributed to a crackling atmosphere.
Spurred on by both sets of supporters, the two teams continued to tear from one end of the field to the other in a wide open match.
Leeds were inches away from retaking the lead when Brendan Aaronson hit the crossbar before Alisson made amends for his earlier slip by saving from Jack Harrison.
Darwin Nunez had scored in his previous four starts to start repaying his €75 million transfer fee. But the Uruguayan had a night to forget in front of goal as he twice failed to beat Illan Meslier when one-on-one with the French goalkeeper.
Meslier also saved from Salah and Roberto Firmino in the closing stages as Leeds looked to be hanging on just for a point. But Summerville produced a moment of genius to give them all three and set up a memorable 21st birthday for the Dutch winger tomorrow.
"My birthday is going to be special!" Summerville said. "Scoring the winner at Anfield is a dream for every player."
