As the Manchester United players made their way into the dressing room at half-time on Monday night, one player cut a lone figure on the hallowed Old Trafford turf.
Erik ten Hag had just seen his side run riot against their fiercest rivals in front of a boisterous home crowd, but rather than rest on his laurels, he sensed blood, knowing a second goal was needed against a side who always seemed to score.
Rather than play it safe, the United manager took another educated risk, sending Anthony Martial to warm up at half-time in order to prepare himself for his first taste of competitive action this season.
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It was another gamble that paid off on a night where Ten Hag seemed to be playing with his own cheat dice that had a six on every face.
Martial shone from the moment he came on, roughening up an already damaged defence and playing a key role with his perpetual pressing that forced the opposition into even more mistakes.
The Frenchman rediscovered his form with a flurry of goals in pre-season, but against Liverpool he offered so much more, impressing with his selfless link-up play and a new burning desire to cover ground for the greater good of his team.
"With him, he wasn't available for 90 minutes after his injury, but he gave the ball a way out for the team," Ten Hag said after the match. "He can be a target, he knows the right positions and he has the skills to play through. We saw that with the second goal.
"It was the right moment to bring him on the pitch."
In the past, the 26-year-old has been guilty of operating far too much for his own benefit, guilty of possessing a sole focus on goals and his own personal accolades.
Now he offers a whole lot more. It is a huge credit to Ten Hag that he has ignited this passion inside Martial, who quite clearly buys into the philosophy of the new manager and has been rejuvenated by the fresh faith shown in him during a summer in which most people expected him to leave.
Yet, three matches into the season, and the stats speak for themselves. United lost both of their matches without Martial and won the only one he featured in. Of course, there are other factors at play, and some might call it a coincidence, but perhaps the early season form hasn’t been such a surprise given how much of a blow losing the French forward was.
While you can’t read too much into pre-season results, it is important to note United planned all summer to start the season with a front three of Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho, something taken away from them when the former suffered an injury in the penultimate pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid.
It was the ultimate price to pay for facing such no-nonsense nasty opponents on the eve of the new campaign, and without their favoured front three to call upon, United suffered against Brighton and Brentford.
With such a packed season ahead of them, the painful truth is that United must learn to adapt when one of their preferred forwards isn’t available, but the blueprint has been set now by picking the enterprising Anthony Elanga over the goal-gluttonous Cristiano Ronaldo instead. The Portuguese might be the finest goal scorer in the history of the men’s game, but a fluid front three without him in it is greater than the sum of its parts.
That sums up the entire mantra under the new United manager and also explains why he is such an admirer of having a front three who can quickly interchange during matches and switch positions to bamboozle the opposition defence.
And yet, ironically, it is this desire to eradicate individualism at the club that has allowed the French forward to shine on his own, thanks to a combination of impressive man-management and his own personal sacrifice.
Martial is making himself undroppable under Ten Hag.
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