As the October rains fall, the sunny days of July feel very far away. For Liverpool supporters, they have seemed particularly distant.
On 30 July, Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Community Shield. Darwin Nunez scored on his debut. Mohamed Salah tucked away a penalty. Erling Haaland missed a hatful of chances.
It was a game to fill all Reds fans with optimism. Yet, with Liverpool and City to meet on Sunday for the first time since that game, the optimism has taken a hammering.
Some positivity has returned following the 7-1 thrashing of Rangers at Ibrox which has put Liverpool in clear sight of the Champions League round of 16.