Liverpool fell to a 3-1 away defeat to Hull overnight, seeing them slip to fourth place on the Premier League ladder, seven points behind leaders Arsenal who maintained the pace with a 3-0 defeat of Cardiff on Saturday.
Brendan Rodgers side were without the services of in-form striker Daniel Sturridge who has been sidelined for up to eight weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage at training on Friday.
The Reds boss brought in Victor Moses to replace Sturridge and also gave young Raheem Sterling his first start since October.
However, both players proved to be unconvincing replacements for Sturridge, as Liverpool struggled without the Englishmen’s pace and creativity upfront.
Hull took the lead in the twentieth minute, as ex Tottenham hopeful Jake Livermore claimed his first of the season, helped significantly by a Martin Skrtel deflection.
However, Liverpool hit back seven minutes later through a Steven Gerrard free kick.
It wasn’t until the 72nd minute that Hull reclaimed the lead as David Meyer buried a shot low for his fourth goal of the season.
With time running out and chasing the game, the Reds went on an all out attack, losing all sense of shape in the meantime, allowing another ex Tottenham player Tom Huddlestone to attack through the middle and test his luck.
The Englishmen’s off-target effort was accidentally headed home by Martin Skrtel, capping off a forgettable afternoon for the Slovakian international.
The win was a memorable one for Hull following a disappointing loss to bottom of the table Crystal Palace last week.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers labelled depth as a factor contributing to his sides defeat, claiming the Merseyside club are exposed when without vital players such as Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho.
“There’s no doubt our quality in our squad, with all due respect, isn’t big enough to cope with two big players like that missing,” said the Anfield boss.
“You take those two out… they are two very, very good players, who have been very efficient for us.
“This period now will test us. For the players who come in, it will be a great opportunity to stake their place in the team and hopefully we can get back to winning games.”
Liverpool’s loss means that they have taken just four points from their last four games, seriously denting their title credentials.
And Brendan Rodgers was the first to admit that his side was poor.
“It’s an understatement to say it was disappointing,” he said. “It was very disappointing. Today hurts us all and we just never got near our level.
“We lacked quality with the ball. We never created enough or kept the ball long enough in order to move them about.
“In the last two games we have conceded six goals. We have to be much, much better in that and we have to return to that on Wednesday night at home to Norwich.”
In other matches, Chelsea and Manchester City kept the pace with Arsenal.
Chelsea enjoyed a 3-1 home win over high flying Southampton and City completed a comfortable 3-0 over Swansea.
The results leave Arsenal four points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table, with City in third on 25 points and Liverpool just behind in fourth place on 24 points.
Hull’s win lifts them into the top half of the table, climbing three places into tenth position.
At White Hart Lane, Manchester United had to come from behind twice to scrape a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs took the lead in the 18th minute following a Kyle Walker strike, which was matched by England colleague Wayne Rooney in the 32nd minute.
Brazilian Sandro restored the Londoners lead early in the second half.
However, Andre Villas Boas’ sides lead was again chopped down by Rooney, this time from the penalty spot after Hugo Llroris had mistimed his challenge on Danny Welbeck.
Rooney’s brace was watched on by England boss Roy Hodgson and the 28 –year-old had even more reason to celebrate as his goals took him above Robbie Fowler as the fifth highest Premier league goal scorer of all time.
The result against the Premier League champions was met with high praise from Tottenham fans after a difficult week and was an excellent response to the 6-0 drubbing they suffered at the hands of Manchester City just a week ago.
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