“Where's the final next year? Istanbul? Book the hotel,” declared a bullish Jurgen Klopp after last season's Champions League final defeat in Paris.
Let's hope those rooms are refundable. Klopp expected the good times to keep rolling, but over the course of this troubled season, Liverpool have been repeatedly exposed as a fading force. This limp last-16 exit at the hands of Real Madrid simply confirmed it.
A team that threatened to win everything last season now find themselves condemned to a trophyless campaign by the middle of March. It's been some fall.
Forget showpiece finals and competing for the biggest prizes, now the burning question is when will Liverpool even grace the Champions League again?
Their status among Europe's elite is under serious threat. They have 12 Premier League games left to try to salvage something from this wreckage. Fourth-placed Tottenham are six points better off having played a game more. Liverpool must also overtake Newcastle United and hold off the challenge of Brighton. “A massive task,” was Klopp's assessment.
In the bowels of the Santiago Bernabeu, Klopp looked ahead to a defining week after the international break, when trips to Manchester City and Chelsea are followed by a home clash with leaders Arsenal. “That will be pretty decisive. Our job is to squeeze everything out of this season. This is 'the' competition and we want to be part of it every year,” he said.
It's all they have left to fight for and if they miss out, the repercussions could be sizeable given the financial rewards at stake as thoughts turn to this summer's costly midfield rebuild. One major positive is that Luis Diaz will be in contention to face City having been sidelined by a knee injury since October.
With 17 days between leaving the Bernabeu and arriving at the Etihad, Klopp has much to ponder after Liverpool suffered their biggest-ever aggregate Champions League defeat.
The damage had been done at Anfield three weeks earlier when that dazzling early burst from Klopp's side was overshadowed by the shambolic defending that enabled Real to turn an early 2-0 deficit into a commanding 5-2 lead.
There was certainly no disgrace in losing the second leg so narrowly against such gifted opponents. They left with their pride intact. But although the scoreline was the same as in Paris last May, the dynamic of the contest was very different.
In last season's final, Liverpool enjoyed spells of real dominance and it came down to fine margins. But for the heroics of Thibaut Courtois, they would have lifted the European Cup for the seventh time.
This time they failed to lay a glove on Carlo Ancelotti's side. They never looked like pulling off the kind of miraculous comeback that was required. In fact, they played like a team who didn't believe it was even possible and that underlines just how times have changed.
Having got to the break unscathed thanks mainly to the brilliance of Alisson, the stage looked set for Liverpool to throw everything at Real. With his midfield options depleted, Klopp had been bold by starting a quartet of attackers. They had nothing to lose.
Harvey Elliott had Liverpool's only shot of the entire second half (Photo: Alvaro Medranda/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Yet in the second half, it all went so flat. There was no concerted spell of pressure. No intensity, no urgency. Their final ball kept letting them down. Real never had their backs against the wall. It was far too easy for them. Liverpool didn't even have a shot of any kind after the interval until substitute Harvey Elliott's tame effort in the 83rd minute. It turned out to be their only effort of the second half.
By then, Karim Benzema had killed off the tie and a disjointed Liverpool were bowing out with a whimper.
The failings on display were painfully familiar and that will be the worry for Klopp as he looks ahead to the run-in.
This was in keeping with what Liverpool have served up on their travels for most of this season. It's why they have won just six out of 20 away matches in all competitions.
They failed to take the chances that came their way during the opening exchanges and then seemed to lose heart. They are so brittle. A team who recently scored a record-breaking seven against Manchester United at Anfield now haven't netted in three successive away matches.
There was precious little creativity from the full-backs and predictably the midfield was a mismatch.
James Milner battled admirably but at the age of 37, he shouldn't be starting games of this magnitude. Fabinho, alongside him, is nothing like the force he once was.
Imagine being told in the autumn that the absence of teenager Stefan Bajcetic due to injury for a Champions League knockout clash would really hurt Liverpool.
Talk about different levels. Ancelotti brought on £70million France international Aurelien Tchouameni late on, while Klopp introduced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had played just five minutes of football since mid-January.
Naby Keita, who like Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to leave when his contract expires this summer, remained rooted to the bench throughout. Liverpool's midfield overhaul can't come soon enough.
Klopp's changes didn't positively impact the game and taking off Darwin Nunez was a strange move given his goal threat.
Karin Benzema has now scored seven Champions League goals against Liverpool, more than any other player (Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)
It's the fourth time in six successive seasons of Champions League football for Liverpool under Klopp that Real have ended their dreams — defeats have come in two finals, a quarter-final and now a last-16 tie.
Playing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' over the PA system straight after the final whistle was a show of respect. So was the applause directed at the 1,800-strong travelling Kop by the home fans, but such gestures are easier to make when you've been this superior. Liverpool are no longer a serious threat to Real's ambitions.
“Unfortunately we have to watch these big games now from a distance. I don't know who will win it, but it will be exciting to watch,” Klopp said.
No European miracle for the collection. No emotional return to Istanbul. No open-top bus parade. Not even close.
For Liverpool, it's now top four or bust.