Liverpool became the latest big-name English scalp to be claimed by Basle, who capitalised on their visitors' well-known vulnerability at set-pieces.
The Swiss had beaten Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham in the last four years and added the five-time Champions League winners to that list to move ahead of their opponents in Group B after Marco Streller converted a 53rd-minute corner.
It was not as devastating or catastrophic as Liverpool's last visit to St Jakob Park 12 years ago when a 3-3 draw - having been three down at half-time - sent them crashing out the competition. Captain Steven Gerrard, the only survivor from 2002, ranked his performance that night as one of his worst and there were a few of his current team-mates who should certainly be assessing their contributions this time around.
But Liverpool still have plenty of time to remedy the situation, although they will be hoping the injured Daniel Sturridge regains and maintains full fitness for the back-to-back meetings with defending champions Real Madrid up next.
The goal came after Simon Mignolet, the Liverpool goalkeeper who has been the subject of much criticism recently, came to his side's rescue eight minutes after the interval when saving low from Hamoudi. But Dejan Lovren's panicked concession of a corner proved costly as Liverpool were exposed yet again at a set-piece. Mignolet clawed out the flick-on from Taulant Xhaka's corner but could not prevent Streller smashing home from close range.
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