Liverpool supporters watching Manchester United and Barcelona exchange blows in their Europa League knockout clash on Thursday evening may have been delighted with the scoreline.
After a first half that saw Xavi Hernandez's side take the lead when Marcos Alonso rose highest to connect with Raphinha's corner., United struck back in emphatic circumstances as Marcus Rashford continued his inspired post-World Cup with an excellent near-post finish, before a low-driven cross caused Jules Kounde to turn into his own goal just seven minutes later.
It meant heading into the final 15 minutes of the encounter at the Nou Camp, Erik Ten Hag looked set to etch his name into Manchester United folklore and become the first Red Devils boss to defeat the Spanish giants on their own turf. However, that was until Raphinha's goal-bound cross soared past Robert Lewandowski and somehow found its way into the back of David de Gea's goal - setting up the prospect of a mouthwatering return leg at Old Trafford next week.
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And while Reds supporters choosing to take in the game from afar would've been largely unbothered by the result given the challenges their side faces between now and the end of the season, starting at St James' Park on Saturday, there was a pleasing silver lining to take away from the encounter.
United's inability to hold onto what would've been a historic victory means Liverpool are still the only English side to beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp, having done so on two occasions. The most recent of those triumphs came on the way to the 2007 final when goals from Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise secured a memorable victory in the first knockout round.
While Bellamy and Riise's goals are undeniably permanent fixtures in the Anfield history books, it was in fact John Toshack's strike in the 1975/76 UEFA Cup semi-finals that saw the Reds record their first ever success on the soil of the Catalan outfit. Bob Paisley's side would go on to beat Brugge in the two-legged final later that year, adding to their success in the competition three years earlier.
Jurgen Klopp was, of course, the last Liverpool manager to pitch his side up against Barcelona, when the two sides met back in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals. Yet despite putting on one of their most dominant performances of a scintillating campaign, the Reds would depart the Nou Camp as 3-0 losers after ex-red Luis Suarez's first half strike was followed up by a spectacular brace from Lionel Messi.
However, Klopp and his side would have the last laugh as they turned around their first-leg deficit just six days later at Anfield and recorded a staggering 4-0 win over Messi, Suarez, Phillippe Coutinho and Co. - before returning to Spain weeks later to beat Tottenham in the showpiece final and record a sixth European Cup triumph.
In recent years, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City have all travelled to the home of the La Liga giants in hope of adding their name to those alongside Liverpool's class of 1976 and 2007, but have failed.
Chelsea's dramatic 2-2 draw in the second leg of their 2012 semi-final, a game in which Messi missed a penalty kick, is the closest any Premier League side has come to tasting matching success.
Of course, despite their unfavourable record away to Barcelona, which included a humiliating 4-0 loss in the 1994/95 Champions League campaign, United did famously win the 1999 Champions League final at the Nou Camp, after a last-gasp winner against Bayern Munich rounded off a remarkable treble for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
But despite such an achievement, the history books have Liverpool down as the only English side to defeat Barcelona on home soil. Not once, but twice.
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