It was another night to forget for Mario Balotelli as Real Madrid strolled to a 3-0 win at Anfield.
The Italy striker has struggled for form since his £16 million arrival from AC Milan and was unable to get out of first gear against the European champions on Wednesday evening.
To top it off, Balotelli was caught swapping shirts at half-time with Pepe, a gesture which irked Brendan Rodgers.
“That's the first I've heard (about Balotelli swapping his shirt) and I wouldn't like it either. It shouldn't happen and if that's the case, I'll deal with it,” said the Liverpool manager.
“It’s not something I stand for and it’s something I deal with internally.
Barely two weeks ago James Rodriguez left the pitch in Fortaleza in tears after Colombia were knocked out of the World Cup by hosts Brazil, but he was in rather better spirits on Tuesday as he was unveiled as Real Madrid's latest Galactico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 23-year-old was the top scorer at this summer's tournament, striking his sixth and final goal from the penalty spot against the Selecao - and, in the process, famously picked up a new friend in the shape of an enormous grasshopper.
And now James, sans giant insect, has become the fourth most expensive player in history after sealing a £63 million move to the Spanish capital, where he can look forward to playing alongside two of the three players who have cost more than him, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, as well as fellow summer recruit Toni Kroos.
The countdown to the 2014 Goal 50 has begun and the debate is raging over which star performers from the season should be included in this year's list of football's most talented
Many of the world's greatest footballers are off enjoying their summer holidays, but the star performers of 2013-14 will still have more than one eye on the annual prize-giving ceremony that is the Goal 50.
Our brilliant artist Omar Momani has drawn up his vision of the high achievers in contention for the list - which will be announced on July 28.
Cristiano Ronaldo and reigning champion Lionel Messi have shared five of the six editions of the award, and both take their place on the first row of this year's starting grid. The Argentine will surely be more interested in winning the Goal 50 than he was in collecting the World Cup Golden Ball.
Gareth Bale joins the Clasico duo on the front row and will be feeling a lot of love after a superb first season at Real Madrid. In the middle are Arjen Robben, whose Goal 50 odds have plummeted after a wonderful World Cup, and Luis Suarez - who will be equally hungry to claim the prize.
Also challenging are the acrobatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the stylish Neymar, the no-nonsense Diego Costa, Colombian revelation James Rodriguez and a very proud Germany World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm.
But who is that at the back of the pack? Only Mario Balotelli and the Queen.
Indeed, some would say that the Italian's chances of winning the Goal 50 are about as good as the Titanic staying afloat after hitting the iceberg!
HAVE YOUR SAY
Do these players deserve to make the Goal 50? If not, who else should be on the list? If so, who should join them and in what order should they be ranked?
Forget Falcao, there's a new hero of Colombia and he goes by the name of James Rodriguez... or just James, if you'd prefer.
The Monaco star put in another outstanding performance, scoring two superb goals, as the South Americans defeated Uruguay to go through to the World Cup quarter-finals.
James now has five goals to his name at the tournament in Brazil and, who knows, by the end of the World Cup he may just be a more famous 'James' than NBA star LeBron...!
After massive transfer fees, bumpers wages, taxes and agent fees are totted up the sums are truly staggering: Gareth Bale's move will cost Real Madrid €198.8m!
With so much money flying around, no wonder the players have been enjoying themselves!
Monaco announced the biggest deal of the summer so far - and we're only a
few days into it - with their €70 million (£59.5m) capture of Porto's
James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho.
Their first foray into the
market has put down a marker in France, where Paris Saint-Germain romped
to the Ligue 1 title, and should signal a new superpower on the
continent.
And, with the Monaco Grand Prix also taking place this
weekend, mega-rich owner Dmitry Rybolovlev impressively diverted
attention to the footballing side of the principality.
With
Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao likely to also be signing for
Claudio Ranieri's side on Monday, Monaco could be nudged further ahead
of PSG in the headline-grabbing stakes. TweetFollow @omomani