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It would stretch the fabric of reality to label the events of the past week as Liverpool’s darkest hour.
But whatever your feelings about that hard-won point at Everton, events since that moody clash have left the outlook a bit bleak at Anfield.
Virgil van Dijk’s injury is one that could have serious ramifications for Jurgen Klopp and his aspirations this season.
There is clearly no replacement for the £ 75 million colossus and his season-ending knee injury will certainly weaken the champions going forward.
That is an unfortunate truth that Liverpool have been forced to swallow.
For many, Van Dijk is one of the best central midfielders to contend with for a club that has had their fair share of them over the years.
ACL surgery now awaits the Dutch captain and an already threadbare defense faces life without him at a time when the schedule thickens with games.
But while fans will mourn the gray days that potentially await them, perhaps the Liverpool lighthouse can light up the scene?
It has already been a strange campaign for Fabinho at Anfield.
Left on the bench for the first game of the season at home to Leeds, the Brazilian international could only watch as Marcelo Bielsa’s daring upstarts cut through the Reds’ defensive rear.
However, he had a game-changing impact from the bench when he won the penalty which was scored by hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah.
Eight days later, Fabinho was back on the wing, but this time at the heart of a defense he hoped not to have to lend his talents directly to it often.
With Joe Gomez and Joel Matip ruled out, Liverpool’s tower moved back alongside Van Dijk and was instantly attacked as a result, most notably by Timo Werner.
The versatile former Monaco man, who turned 27 on Friday, was excellent as he kept Chelsea’s big buys at bay in a 2-0 win.
Despite being primarily a defensive-minded midfielder, Fabinho’s particular skills emboldened Klopp to avoid increasing his central ranks in the market.
The Liverpool manager may not have imagined a scenario that would leave him without a Van Dijk talisman for so long, but in his absence, it is time for others to take responsibility.
For Matip, first and foremost, he must show that he is capable of playing regularly. An injury-stricken 2020 means you’ve only completed 90 minutes once in more than a year.
For Gomez, the personal challenge is to rediscover the form that helped make Liverpool’s defensive setup virtually impregnable between December and January last season, when only two goals were dispatched in 12 first-team games.
And for Fabinho, the glove can get a bit more stacked as he continues game to game without really knowing where his square peg fits.
One thing is clear, however, the 27-year-old is already prepared for what he has to do in the coming months.
“It’s not easy, but I have to do a little bit what Virgil always does: talk to the team and try to be a leader,” he said after putting on a practically flawless display in the Champions League win over Ajax.
“Of course, I am not Virgil, but I do my best and I will do my best.”
As Fabinho says, he is not Virgil van Dijk. No one in world football can claim to be on a similar level.
But Liverpool’s “beacon” – a phrase first coined by assistant boss Pep Lijnders – is ready to step up to guide Klopp’s team home.
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