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| Kenny Dalglish endured a disappointing return to the dugout as 10-man Liverpool went down to a 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
The Anfield icon was left stunned as Ryan Giggs gave the hosts a controversial first minute lead from the penalty spot before captain Steven Gerrard was shown a straight red card on 32 minutes for a lunge on Michael Carrick.
It means the Reds' hopes of a first-ever visit to new Wembley will have to wait for another year while Dalglish and co will now turn their attention to Wednesday's trip to Blackpool and the small matter of next weekend's Merseyside derby with Everton.
Liverpool had gone into the Old Trafford encounter on the crest of a wave after a busy weekend had begun with an impressive Youth Cup victory over Crystal Palace and the sensational news that King Kenny would replace the departing Roy Hodgson in the hot-seat.
It led to a stark contrast in the mood of the supporters who had exited Ewood Park with their heads bowed in dejection following a midweek loss at Blackburn. Instead, 9000 members of the travelling Kop arrived in Manchester hopeful that their Messiah could inspire a sudden upturn in fortunes.
However, within 60 seconds of the third round's stand-out fixture, the visitors found themselves behind.
A long ball over the top sent Dimitar Berbatov racing into the right-hand side of the Liverpool penalty area. The Bulgarian side stepped Daniel Agger with some neat control and when the Dane left a leg hanging, referee Howard Webb was left with a decision to make.
After a moment's hesitation the official pointed to the spot much to the surprise of the visiting players who could only watch on as Giggs stepped up to emphatically beat Pepe Reina with a well taken spot-kick.
The Reds looked to respond immediately and carved out an opportunity just two minutes later when Fernando Torres miscued his effort from the edge of the box.
Having returned from Dubai less than 24 hours earlier it would have been difficult for
Dalglish to have made any true imprint upon the team, but as the adrenalin of a cup clash with one of their biggest rivals coursed through their veins, there seemed to be an extra spring in their step.
First Maxi Rodriguez stung the fingertips of Tomasz Kuszczak before Martin Kelly saw his marauding run and cross end in a superb near post clearance by a United defender.
Gerrard then fired over before the captain suffered a lapse in composure that would prove pivotal in the outcome of the game.
The No.8 caught Carrick with a two-footed lunge that led the United players to surround Webb in fury. The official took time to consider his options before giving Gerrard his marching orders. The straight red means he will now miss the next three matches, including the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
It also left Dalglish's men with a mountain to climb and they were grateful not to be two behind at the interval when a Jonny Evans header crashed back off Reina's right-hand post deep into first-half injury time.
The Reds needed to stay solid if they were to maintain hope of getting back into the game as the hosts swarmed forward after the restart.
Javier Hernandez glanced a Darren Fletcher cross just off target before Patrice Evra had half-hearted claims for a penalty when he was shrugged off the ball by Agger.
Dalglish introduced Jonjo Shelvey and Ryan Babel in an attempt to salvage an equaliser but despite defending resiliently - and with Pepe Reina commanding in the Reds' goal - they were unable to offer enough attacking threat to seriously trouble United's defence, with Fabio Aurelio's curling free kick the closest they came to an equaliser.
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