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As the nation prepares for a return from lockdown, there is at least one element of those days that is reassuringly familiar to Liverpool.
For three long months between March and June, the Reds were suspended, at the top of English football, 25 points clear and unsure whether they would have a chance to finish the job.
And while the country is sadly preparing to be induced once again into the restrictions of a COVID-19 world, Liverpool will at least top the table once more.
For now, anyway.
The events at St James Park, where Everton visit on Sunday afternoon, will determine whether Liverpool will stay there in time for next week’s showdown at Manchester City, but the vision of Jurgen Klopp’s men at the helm again is welcome.
But if so much uncertainty continues to plague the rest of the world, the Reds are as regular as clockwork at Anfield. Another home win here takes them to 63 unbeaten matches in the Premier League, dating back to April 2017.
He sees them match the record set by Bob Paisley’s side in the late 1970s. That’s the kind of team this Liverpool is now being compared to in the long run.
David Moyes has visited this venue 16 times with four different teams and has yet to win. This latest defeat, which came on Halloween no less, reinforced Anfield’s reputation as a house of horrors for the former Everton and Manchester United manager.
Klopp made six changes in total from Tuesday’s Champions League team that beat FC Midtjylland with the prominent name as Nat Phillips, who arrived for their Premier League debut.
Get more reactions to the Reds’ 2-1 win over West Ham on our Blood Red post-game podcast HERE
The center-back’s only other appearance at Liverpool was when he flew to a match in the FA Cup win over Everton in January midway through a loan stint that he would complete with Stuttgart in Bundesliga II.
At 23, Phillips isn’t a puppy, but this was a huge step forward for a player who played only second-division soccer in Germany last season. Opportunity knocked on the door when he was given a real opportunity to show everyone that Liverpool’s central defender’s woes have been greatly exaggerated.
It was one that he duly took with an excellent display that exuded power and poise. Central defense problems? Not if this becomes the usual result for the Bolton-born Phillips.
A towering header on the £ 40 million target man Sebastian Haller was initially greeted with huge applause from everyone wearing a Liverpool jacket on the bench as he wedged pre-match nerves with a towering defense.
The visitors had the upper hand when Liverpool carelessly failed to tackle a cross from the right. Joe Gomez’s half punt fell to Pablo Fornals, who left on his feet for a goal that Alisson Becker will be disappointed to have beaten.
The Reds pressed and tested lightly on the Hammers defense before Arthur Masuaku kicked Mohamed Salah into the area towards the end of the first half.
The Egypt star dusted himself off and put it in the middle for his eighth of the campaign. The decision could have been made in the ‘soft’ category, but since fortune has often deserted the Reds of late, Klopp will rarely apologize.
As Liverpool struggled to create something remarkable in the second half, Klopp sought out Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri, two of the Reds’ brightest sparks on Tuesday night.
It was an inspired management on the part of the Liverpool manager, as they combined for the crucial second leading the Reds over their local rivals to first place.
However, before Jota could celebrate his fourth goal for Liverpool, he thought he had already scored when he swept home a 2-1 counterattack. As is often the case on the Klopp side these days, the VAR intervened.
Referee Kevin Friend visited the court monitor and assessed Sadio Mane’s slip on goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and Angelo Ogbonna before deciding that it was a foul and that Jota’s goal would not stand.
However, the champions, and perhaps that is exactly why they have that title, refused to give in and accept their fate. Instead, two fingers darted at the VAR technicalities and ensured that his next goal was perfect.
Shaqiri sent a wonderful pass to Jota, who didn’t need to break in step before dispatching the winner. It was a magnificent move from two players who had injected a significant amount of quality into a front row that was already full of it.
This is Liverpool’s current carnation, the strongest team they have been equipped with for decades.
Klopp has plenty of options in its ranks in virtually every area. Even in a position as affected as center-back right now, Phillips can step in and get pretty much everyone’s attention.
The vision of him clearing a dangerous curve in the final stages encapsulated just that. You can expect more calls from Klopp in the future as Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Fabinho continue to heal their respective injuries.
With Manchester City leading the Reds, Phillips’s statement was timely. The biggest test of his career now surely awaits him at the Etihad next week.
Strength in depth – It’s something that hasn’t always been apparent at Anfield and it’s what will keep Liverpool in good stead as the winter months roll on.
Now more than ever, in the campaign Klopp calls the “most challenging” of his career, everyone will be needed.
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