Jurgen Klopp punched the air, trademark style, and Liverpool were victorious against a horribly out-of-sorts Tottenham Hotspur team that fell to a fourth successive defeat in the Premier League.
Liverpool entered last Sunday's contest having fallen by the wayside in the three-horse title race, with a series of puncturing results allowing Arsenal and Manchester City to gallop ahead.
But Klopp's cheers were no less emphatic, Anfield's roars no less resounding. Liverpool have been. outthought and outfought in recent weeks but Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, soon to take to the dugout, must be giddy at the thought of getting his mitts on this sparkling group of players.
A four-goal lead was halved after a spirited Spurs fightback that saw the full-time whistle sound to the tune of the Reds' 4-2 victory, and while the defensive frailties remain, Liverpool's impressive attack has indeed shown signs of life once again.
Unfortunately, Darwin Nunez was left with a rueful expression, knocked out of countenance after two promising late chances that came to nought.
Liverpool's £85m record signing from Benfica has been influential this season but every rose has its thorn and the Uruguayan's wastefulness in front of goal is starting to pose a problem for the Anfield side.
Darwin Nunez's future at Liverpool
Nunez's situation appears to have shifted to a deeper, darker level. The 24-year-old has been criticised for his poor finishing and the impact that has had on Liverpool's fight for silverware in recent months, and he has recently deleted recent Liverpool-related pictures from his social media accounts.
What does this mean? Is this a non-story, spreading injuriously as social media narratives often do? Nunez was quick to head down the tunnel following the recent win over Tottenham, missing a big chance, stifling an attack, being caught offside twice and failing with his three attempted passes during a 15-minute cameo in the late stage, as per Sofascore.
He has posted 18 goals and 13 assists across 51 outings this season and is blessed with fast pace, fierce tenacity and sharp, intelligent movements.
Opposition often doesn't know what he's going to do next, but this seems to translate in his own head into his goalscoring ability, which seems to be a matter of temperament over technicality.
Slot's soon-to-be-implemented tactical structure might see Nunez take a backseat if he is unable to find his touch in front of goal, especially given Liverpool's interest in Bayer Leverkusen phenomenon Florian Wirtz.
Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the newly-crowned German Bundesliga champions "consider Wirtz untouchable for this summer" after his exemplary campaign, but if Liverpool were to table the right offer, they might be swayed.
Admittedly, that bid would need to be gargantuan, with recent reports suggesting that a fee of around £111m could be enough to convince the German club, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern Munich also interested.
Liverpool are at the beginning of a new era and this would truly be the statement signing to confirm that Klopp's exit does not mean that ambition has slipped.
Why Liverpool must sign Florian Wirtz
Wirtz has been in remarkable form this season for Xabi Alonso's unbeaten, treble-chasing side, scoring 18 goals and supplying 19 assists across 45 fixtures in all competitions, usually featuring as a central attacking midfielder but placed in every attacking role imaginable at one stage or another.
As per FBref, the £74k-per-week gem ranks among the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 3% for assists, the top 1% for passes attempted and shot-creating actions, the top 2% for progressive passes, the top 15% for progressive carries and the top 5% for successful take-ons per 90.
Such a far-reaching set of skills, performed with a professional's command, could see Wirtz occupy pockets of space, the half-spaces, with such expertise that Liverpool might find they have a new and improved version of Roberto Firmino on their hands, allowing Wirtz to play a bit higher up the pitch as an excellent Nunez replacement.
While Wirtz has the skills to serve as a Firmino-esque forward for Slot's Liverpool, he would only find true success in such a protean role if Liverpool were to have two incisive wide forwards capable of wreaking havoc with preternatural levels of goalscoring ability.
Mohamed Salah, in fairness, might not have the same snap or electricity but he's still one of the world-class strikers of his generation, though Luis Diaz is too wasteful to emulate Sadio Mane's past position in Klopp's squad, scoring eight goals and missing 12 big chances from 35 top-flight outings this term.
This would call for a further signing, were Wirtz to thrive in such a role, though the young German international's prowess exhibited across this maiden phase of his career denotes his multi-functionality, emphasises his ability to, basically, put on a show and a half wherever he may be deployed.
The 21-year-old has even been described as the "mastermind" of Alonso's Die Werkself system by talent scout Jacek Kulig. The intricacies and the enigma behind Leverkusen's ridiculous level of success stem in large part from Wirtz's utter brilliance in his attacking craft.
Bundesliga
31
11
11
Europa League
9
4
4
DFB-Pokal
5
3
4
Take a look at the table above. What does it tell you? We've already sifted through Wirtz's statistics, the mechanisms behind his seasonal success, but this table above paints a picture that reveals just how prodigious this talent is.
Wirtz's ability to maintain his potency in any environment, with such clinical constancy, is truly something to marvel at, and given that he's still really in the fledgling phase of his career, perhaps Liverpool wouldn't be so ludicrous to part with a club record fee that would eclipse the wads presented to Benfica for Nunez's signature.
So what, Wirtz isn't an out-and-out centre-forward. Is Nunez, really? The Leverkusen star is just getting started, on the cusp of an invincible campaign to surpass Arsenal, Rangers, Ajax.
This is a bona fide sensation. FSG's CEO of Football, Michael Edwards, must do everything within his power – and more out of it – to bring him to Anfield, where he will bloom into one of English football's most staggering football players in a generation, or maybe two or three.
Liverpool star who was on par with Elliott simply has to start under Slot
This Liverpool dynamo has fired himself up the pecking order over recent weeks.
ByAngus Sinclair
