THE last time Roy Hodgson suffered a defeat as damaging as this at Ewood Park he was swiftly put out of his misery.
Blackburn owner Jack Walker sacked him within an hour of a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Southampton in November 1998 after Rovers had slumped to the bottom of the Premier League.
It was the final straw for disillusioned supporters who showed their dissent with a sarcastic chorus of 'Hodgson for England'.
History is repeating itself but this time the death is slow and painful.
If the last-gasp victory over Bolton handed the Liverpool boss a stay of execution last night he looked like a man knowing he was on his way to the gallows.
This was desperate. If Saturday gave Hodgson a glimmer of hope he could save his skin, it was surely snuffed out by his former club.
The only remaining question is when will the club's owners wield the axe. Privately, they have admitted they hoped to avoid making any decision on the manager's future until the end of the season.
But how much longer can they allow the current slump to go on and how much lower can Liverpool fall?
Twenty one months ago they were delivering thrashings to Real Madrid and Manchester United. Now they are being outclassed and outfought by a severely depleted Blackburn side.
The decline has been startling. Of course the rot had set in before Hodgson's arrival but rather than turn things around he has instead accelerated the decline.
A petition calling for Hodgson's dismissal has already attracted over 19,000 signatures and on the back of this wretched performance that number looks set to swell.
Once again fans voted with their feet with swathes of empty seats in the Darwen End which is traditionally sold out for this fixture year in year out.
Those who did turn up did their best to rally the troops but after Benjani netted his second of the night to make it 3-0 just before the hour mark the mood drastically changed.
Chants for the boss to be replaced with Kenny Dalglish followed and even more damaging for Hodgson, Reds fans joined in home taunts towards the touchline of 'You're getting sacked in the morning'.
They live in hope.
There were no angry scenes at the final whistle but by then most supporters had headed for the exit resigned to another wasted trip.
Hodgson has pleaded with fans and owners for time and patience, moaning about “unfair negativity” thrown in his direction but his complaints cut no ice.
A fifth defeat in their last nine league games leaves the Reds stranded in 12th and only four points above the drop zone.
Their points tally is the club's lowest at this stage of the season for over half a century, while 10 away league games have now yielded just seven goals and five points. The statistics are damning. This was a Blackburn side who had taken just four points out of 12 after the surprise sacking of Sam Allardyce last month. A club Liverpool had only lost to once in the previous 24 league meetings.
Injuries, suspension and the Asian Cup deprived Rovers of no fewer than eight team players and they looked vulnerable.
Briefly, Liverpool flickered into life early on with Fernando Torres going close but they couldn't sustain it.
Left-back Paul Konchesky did nothing to warrant his return to the side and on the other side Glen Johnson was equally wasteful.
On the right Joe Cole failed to respond to being handed his first league start since October and on the left flank Maxi Rodriguez was anonymous.
In the centre Steven Gerrard, on his 550th appearance for the Reds, gave everything but ploughed a lonely furrow, badly let down by those around him.
Blackburn grew in confidence as the half wore on and the warning signs were there long before the breakthrough arrived.
The most damning indictment of Hodgson's Liverpool was that they weren't bullied by a side renowned for their route one tactics.
Even more embarrassing they were outclassed by Rovers' passing and invention. Mame Diouf had already fired weakly at Pepe Reina from close range before the striker on loan from Manchester United lashed a volley narrowly over.
The only surprise when the hosts finally went in front in the 32nd minute was the breathtaking shoddiness of Liverpool's defending.
Johnson was caught woefully out of position and Mame Diouf had all the time he needed to pick out Martin Olsson's diagonal run. The Swede raced through untracked and emphatically beat Reina.
Worse was to follow six minutes later. There appeared to be little danger when Morten Gamst Pedersen clipped the ball into Benjani's feet just inside the box.
However, the careless Sotirios Kyrgiakos allowed him to turn and the striker lashed a shot into the roof of the net.
They were two wretched goals to concede and despite a brief revival early in the second half Liverpool were soon punished again.
Junior Hoillett skipped past Martin Skrtel, held off the half-hearted Johnson and centred for Benjani to score.
Just to pile on the misery the Liverpool fans were then goaded by former Anfield flop El Hadji Diouf as he warmed up on the touchline. For some it was too much to bare.
Hoilett almost added a fourth before Gerrard's one-man bid to restore some pride.
The skipper refused to throw in the towel and lashed home in the 82nd minute after Torres' shot had been blocked.
Four minutes later he was upended by Michel Salgado in the box but any chance of a grandstand finish was ended when Gerrard blazed the spot-kick over.
In truth a dramatic finale would only have papered over the cracks. Liverpool got what they deserved and there was nowhere to hide.
You fear for them at Old Trafford on Sunday. The big question is whether Hodgson will still be at the helm.
Copyright - Liverpool Echo
