One of the best stories of the 2013-14 season was the emergence of Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool.

The team, which had once reigned supreme in England and Europe, had gone through a number of shambolic seasons in what the manager dubbed as a "rebuild".

In 2013-14, the "rebuild" bore fruit as the team finally competed for England's crown and earned a berth into the Champions League for the first time in what seemed like ages (their last time was in 2009-10 when the team failed to get out of its group).

Despite the loss of Luis Suarez this summer, many expected the team to continue growing and scoring by committee. Rodgers made some shrewd additions this summer and many pinned the Reds for a good season.

The Premier League has not been quite as good as expected, but there was still some hope for European competition. Being drawn into a group with Real Madrid is undoubtedly inconvenient, but FC Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad should not have posed a threat. But they did, and six games later the Reds are headed to Europe's other competition, much to the disappointment of fans.

How did the calamity happen? Here are some reasons.

Not Protecting the House

Anfield should be a tough place to play.

At least, history indicates that it is. In 2013-14, the team won 16, lost two and drew one. This year, the team is 3-3-2 at home and has scored seven while conceding six. Games at home in the Champions League were huge letdowns for fans as the team struggled mightily to express itself. In the 2-1 winner of Ludogorets, the team needed some last-gasp magic from captain Steven Gerrard (via penalty) to win. But that was as good as it got, and that was far from exemplary when considering that that was supposed to be an "easy game."

Then came the Real Madrid match. A 3-0 beating in which Cristiano Ronaldo exorcised his Anfield demons and Liverpool was embarrassing in front of the world. The team was out-possessed (something that rarely happens to Reds) and was dramatically outshot 7-2.

And then came the most painful blow of all.

A win at home in the final group game would book the team a flight into the next round. The only thing standing in Liverpool's way was FC Basel. Liverpool should have been the favorites and playing at home should have spun the game in the team's favor. But 25 minutes in and two goals were of the essence as Basel scored to take a 1-0 lead. Steven Gerrard finally managed the equalizer at the 81 minute mark, but as they say "too little, too late." Liverpool should have won two of three at home. The inability to do that cost the team.

Outshot and Outchanced

Out of their six games, does anyone want to venture to guess in how many of those Liverpool created more chances and shots than its opponents? Two.

Those would be the team's opening two matches in which it looked like Rodgers and his troops looked comfortable. In the opener against Razgrad, the team managed 23 total shots (seven on target) to 11. It was the team's most dominant performance of the tournament and the team deservedly won (despite needing a penalty to do so). Then it outshot 15-11, but shots on target were 5-5.

Then it all went downhill.

Obviously, Madrid was no easy task, but at home the team was outshot 14-12 and only two of its shots were on target; that is less than Madrid's total goals. In the rematch, Madrid humiliated Liverpool by outshooting it 27-4 with nine shots on target to Liverpool's single snipe on target. If not for Simon Mignolet, that game ends 4-0 or 5-0 easily.

The rematch against Razgrad was embarrassing as Liverpool not only lost possession but was outshot 18-8 (though on target chances were 4-4) to a side that got into the tournament because its defender made some big saves in a playoff penalty shootout!

And then came the closer at home. Liverpool watched Basel outshoot it 15-14 (though Liverpool had a slight edge with five shots on target to Basel's four). That's still unacceptable for a team that needed to play with desperation.

And chances and shots are what get you goals. If other teams are outchancing you, they have a better chance at winning the game.

Liverpool actually averaged the third most shots per game in the group, which unsurprisingly corresponds with the team's finish in the standings.

Goalscoring Woes

Remember that business about scoring by committee?

Four different players scored for the Reds, but, when all was said and done, the team relied exclusively on Steven Gerrard to get them out of danger. A lot of that had to do with the Mario Balotelli experiment proving to be an epic mess. Once Rodgers abandoned that experiment, he tried out two other players to lead the line. They were Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini. Borini scored seven goals last year, but he has yet to score for Liverpool. Lambert scored 13 goals last year but has looked far from terrific for his club this season.

Might I mention that none of those players have anywhere near the upside of Luis Suarez?

Rodgers made a huge mistake in giving away his talisman while bringing in no one near that level as his replacement. It has failed in the Premier League and his mistake reared its ugly head throughout the Champions League.