Accrington Stanley needed a stiff drink after learning the harsh realities of sharing a pitch with Liverpool.

The chasm between them remains as large as 35 years ago when both clubs featured in a famous advert for milk with the immortal pay-off line: “Accrington Stanley, who are they?”.

Nobody at Anfield on Saturday will forget how the plucky underdogs – 86 places behind Premier League leaders Liverpool – gave it a go.

Yet still they were undone by a classic breakaway, a touch of class from Trent Alexander-Arnold and two unerring finishes from substitutes Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa.

And this wasn’t even full-strength Liverpool Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah given the afternoon off and 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha handed a debut.

‘I think the fans liked what they saw,’ said Reds manager Arne Slot afterwards about the club’s latest whizzkid. ‘He is very quick on his feet and changes direction really fast.’

Trent Alexander-Arnold put Liverpool in a commanding position before the break with a stunning drive

The right-back marked captaining the side with a crisp shot that arrowed into the top corner

Federico Chiesa came off the bench to score his first goal for the Reds since his summer arrival

Accies, 19th in League Two, survived half-an-hour before Diogo Jota became the first Liverpool player since the legendary Billy Liddell to score against them.

The killer moment arrived on the stroke of half-time when Alexander-Arnold, wearing the captain’s armband, drilled a second goal into the top corner that goalkeeper William Crellin barely saw.

‘That’s what a world-class player can do,’ acknowledged defeated captain Shaun Whalley and even Accies manager John Doolan, who coached a six-year-old Trent at the Liverpool academy, couldn’t hide his admiration.

‘Such a humble and wonderful guy,’ he said. ‘I’d said before the game I wasn’t sure if Trent would remember me. I was applauding our fans at the end when he came over in a big coat and said: “I do remember!”

Given the criticism he faced after his poor performance against Manchester United last weekend, and fears among The Kop he may join Real Madrid at the end of the season when his contract at Anfield ends, the Liverpudlian defender would have been thrilled to hear the positive reaction from supporters on Saturday. ‘It’s the biggest compliment you can have,’ added Slot.

To Accrington’s credit, they turned up at Anfield showing more ambition than many Premier League sides do.

They pressed with energy and pushed their wing-backs high but bridging the gap in quality was simply beyond them.

Liverpool’s opening goal after 29 minutes was a case in point. Stanley sent players forward after winning a free-kick only to find themselves falling behind within seconds.

Diogo Jota opened the scoring for Arne Slot’s side after a trademark Liverpool counter

The League Two side gave a good account of themselves and were even able to trouble Reds stopper Caoimhin Kelleher

Accrington boss John Doolan would have been pleased by much of what he saw from his team at Anfield