Jurgen Klopp may have barely believed it achievable by his Liverpool players less than two months ago.
But there's no escaping the fact had the Reds boss been informed at the start of the season his team would regard finishing fifth as any sort of accolade, he would assume something had gone very, very wrong.
The reality of missing out on the Champions League for the first time in seven years is now beginning to dawn on Liverpool. Sorely missed will those nights be pitting their wits against the continent's elite.
