Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp said his players had made "massive mistakes" in the 7-2 thrashing at Aston Villa, adding "a game like tonight should not happen".
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Klopp's Premier League champions were left stunned as Ollie Watkins registered a first-half hat-trick and John McGinn, Ross Barkley and Jack Grealish, with a brace, also got on the scoresheet for Villa.
"If we can put all our rubbish mistakes in one game then it's done and we can start again," Klopp said.
"Pretty much everybody made massive mistakes around the goals, and the first one was obviously Adrian. That was a big mistake but how we reacted to the goal was an even bigger mistake."
The hosts, who led 4-1 at halftime, did not look back after going 1-0 up through Watkins in the fourth minute as they punished an error by the Reds goalkeeper.
"At halftime we thought if we can stop doing the bad stuff and improve the good stuff, score one, two - game on," the German added.
"But this was not possible because we made similar mistakes again, and then the deflected goals came in (Villa's fifth and sixth goals went in via deflections, as did their third). We conceded these goals, strange scoreline, but we have to accept it.
It was the first match in which a Klopp team had conceded seven goals in his managerial career, and the first occasion for Liverpool since a 7-2 loss to Tottenham in 1963.
"A game like tonight should not happen, 100 per cent. Since I was here I don't think I lost that high. It's not a personal defeat, but it's a massive one. For me, it is only important how we react," Klopp added.
"You could see in moments, in different challenges Aston Villa definitely wanted it more than us. That's something I saw and don't like."
Liverpool's goals came at 2-0 and 5-1 down, both from Mohamed Salah.
Klopp also said first choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, absent after injuring his shoulder in training, had "no chance" of playing in the next match at Everton on October 17 and that "four weeks could be possible, six weeks is maybe more likely".
Australian Associated Press