Much has been made of Mario Balotelli acquiescing to Pepe's request for a half-time shirt swap.
It was unwise for Mario to fulfil this request before he had got deep in to the tunnel but in the modern agenda-driven media days it provided a nice fillip for the back page headline writers. Liverpool's first half capitulation against Madrid had put this event into full focus. In a way it probably suited Brendan Rodgers - filling vital moments of post-match interviews where perhaps more pressing questions could have been asked.
Questions such as:
1. Why after over 2 years in charge, and £63M spent on 8 defenders and a keeper can Liverpool not defend a simple ball into the box?
2. Why was there no top class striker lined up to replace Luis Suarez when you (most likely) knew he was leaving at least 9 months in advance?
3. Under what circumstances did you think it correct to give your keeper, already with question marks over his head, no effective competition for his place?
4. What did you see in Dejan Lovren/Lazar Markovic that made you think it was a good way to spend £20M apiece?
5. What was the thought process in replacing a hard-working, ball-running striker with Mario Balotelli? Was it a vanity project to show you could do something Mourinho and Mancini couldn't?
Brendan Rodgers has had plenty to note this season
The summer influx of players
At the end of this summer's transfer window Brendan Rodgers said that this summer would be the busiest for a while - the large influx of players - mostly in the £10-£20M bracket totally over £110M was necessary:
“I have to bear in mind that these players took us to where we are but we can’t settle on that.
“We came second last year but our idea is to win and that’s why we need to have a squad to handle it and with the extra competition this year, we will need it too. That’s the simple fact of it.
“We have to keep moving. Success last year was getting into the Champions League and only just missing out on the league but we have to look to keep progressing each year.
“I think we have done that and I am really excited with the ones we have brought in with hopefully a few more to come. Then we will have a squad ready to compete on every front.”
So where is this extra competition? Liverpool's two pronged attack last summer was a revelation. So where is that competition this season for our two main strikers? Who are our two main strikers?
Where is the competition for Mignolet - a goalkeeper with a basic inability to catch a ball - preferring instead to punch the ball back into danger around the area or needlessly tip the ball to create Liverpool's nemesis - the corner.
Many fans are now speculating that there at the very least should be some coaching changes at the club - questions are rightly asked about the trio of Rodgers, Pascoe and Marsh to defensively coach a team. Ultimately the manager takes full responsibility so in the first instance he should be afforded the time to make the necessary personnel changes. His success last season, no matter how largely you apportion it to Suarez, means he more than deserves the opportunity for a reshuffle.
Liverpool's defensive frailties are unlikely to be corrected until a new goalkeeper is purchased - which alongside a striker or two is now an urgency for the January transfer window.
That may come too late to rescue Liverpool's current Champions League campaign but there is still plenty of time to ensure the reds can have another go next season.
In the meantime let's not get distracted by a foolish shirt-swap at half-time - let's concern ourselves with the mistake of him even getting picked after his half-dozen previous anonymous displays.