The fortress has fallen. Anfield, once the most feared ground in English football, witnessed scenes of utter despair on Saturday as Nottingham Forest dismantled defending champions Liverpool with a comprehensive 3-0 victory that will send shockwaves through the Premier League.

Goals from Murillo, Nicolo Savona, and Morgan Gibbs-White condemned Liverpool to their heaviest home defeat since Manchester City's 4-1 demolition in February 2021, leaving the Reds' season in complete disarray. For a club that lifted the title just months ago, the collapse has been nothing short of catastrophic.

The statistics make for grim reading on Merseyside. Liverpool have now lost six of their opening twelve Premier League games as defending champions, a record so poor that only three other sides in the competition's history have started their title defense in such wretched fashion. Eight defeats in eleven matches across all competitions tells the story of a team in freefall, with confidence visibly draining from players who looked world-beaters just last season.

Forest, under the guidance of new manager Sean Dyche, arrived at Anfield knowing that victory would lift them out of the relegation zone. What followed was a masterclass in away performance that will live long in the memory of their travelling supporters. They became only the fourth visiting team to win at Anfield by three or more goals in the entire Premier League era, a statistic that underlines the magnitude of their achievement.

The opening goal, however, arrived amid controversy. Murillo's strike stood despite replays appearing to show Dan Ndoye in an offside position during the buildup. VAR reviewed the incident but allowed the goal to stand, much to the fury of the home crowd. Whether the decision was correct or not, it set the tone for an afternoon that Liverpool would rather forget.

Savona doubled the visitors' advantage before Gibbs-White applied the finishing touch to complete the rout. Forest defended resolutely throughout, frustrating Liverpool's increasingly desperate attempts to find a way back into the contest. The final whistle was greeted with a mixture of boos and stunned silence from the home faithful, many of whom had already departed long before the end.

For Dyche, this victory represents the perfect start to his tenure at the City Ground. Known for his organizational skills and ability to make teams difficult to beat, the former Burnley and Everton manager has immediately stamped his authority on this Forest side. Pulling clear of the relegation zone with such a statement win will do wonders for morale heading into a congested fixture schedule.

Liverpool, meanwhile, find themselves facing an existential crisis. Questions are being asked at every level of the club, from tactical decisions to player recruitment to the overall direction of the project. The gap between last season's champions and the side currently occupying the bottom half of the table seems impossible to bridge.

As the dust settles on this historic humiliation, Liverpool must somehow find answers and quickly. The Premier League waits for no one, and right now, the defending champions look anything but.