Virgil van Dijk was trying his best to reel through all the goals from Liverpool in Sunday's 7-0 win over Manchester United when he was forced to temporarily pause his post-match assessment.
As the Reds centre-back was attempting to lavish praise on the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, who all scored two goals each to help secure a truly historic result against their fierce arch-rivals, Van Dijk eventually had to make a concession.
"I don't even know all the goals by the way!" he smiled midway through the post-match chat, with the endless celebrations seemingly whirring around his mind's eye. It was that sort of day; one that defied any sort of cutting-edge analysis or expert explanation. It was simply an unforgettable afternoon that was there merely to be enjoyed from the home side's perspective.
But when the dust eventually settles on Liverpool's most sizable victory against United - a game that remains the biggest fixture in England and the most watched on the planet - there is more than a pointer to be found for what comes next under Jurgen Klopp.
The restructuring of Liverpool's attacking ranks has been a gradual one over the last year or so with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo joining Luis Diaz at the club since the start of 2022 and while the latter continues to convalesce after knee surgery in December, the former pair provided a tantalising glimpse into the next stage of the Klopp blueprint on Sunday afternoon.
With Sadio Mane long gone and Roberto Firmino set to leave the club after eight years at the end of the season, Liverpool's supporters, whether they like it or not, will be forced to move on from a period that saw those two, alongside the peerless Salah, come to simply be described, affectionately, as 'the front three'.
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The age of Mane, Salah and Firmino was a glorious one that helped the club win every top-level trophy available between 2019-2022. During their time together, they were responsible for 338 goals including the famous great blitz of 2017/18 when they registered 91 to help the a burgeoning Reds side to a Champions League final and a top-four finish in the Premier League. To date, that triumvirate have scored 406 goals for Klopp with two of the famous frontline still active at Anfield.
But all good things, as they say, must come to an end and Liverpool have been future-proofing their options as far back as September 2020 when Diogo Jota joined from Wolves for an initial £40m. Those plans have been significantly stepped up since Diaz was signed from Porto at the end of last January.
Nunez could yet become a club-record signing at £85m if his £21m worth of add-ons are met and the decision to bring in Gakpo at the turn of the year is starting to bear fruit with the Dutchman turning in his most complete display so far in the humiliation of United.
"Very clinical," was the view of Van Dijk. "I think a lot of those goals were world class in my opinion. The first one: I think the whole build-up towards it was outstanding. Obviously Cody cutting into his right foot, a quality finish.
"A header from Darwin, one of the last ones, Mo obviously with the right-foot finish, so overall I'm very pleased for everyone.
"Cody, obviously it's been a difficult time to come to any club, I think, in the winter for any player but he's settling in very well. It's a very difficult position to play. Obviously he learns from one of the best, I think, each and every day with Bobby Firmino.
"He has to keep going, keep the confidence, keep the belief and stick together. I think he will be fine for this club and I mentioned it already before but he's a fantastic player. The other two players up there with Darwin, he's causing chaos all the time with his speed, his passion and also with the quality."
With Salah - Liverpool's new all-time leading scorer of the Premier League era - now the undoubted patriarch of the new-look frontline, Gakpo and Nunez have the perfect example to follow as they continue to work their way towards becoming stars of the world game as Reds players.
"Mo, today he showed why he is so important for this football club definitely," added Van Dijk. "He is very influential with everything that's been going on in a positive way over the last couple of years and hopefully he can keep that going.
"For him to be the all-time Premier League top scorer for Liverpool is something no one should take for granted. He definitely shouldn't and I won't. He should also not just brush it off because it's something special."
And perhaps the major plus point the new era has on the previous one is the strength in depth from the supporting cast. While players like Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino were always viewed as backup to Mane, Salah and Firmino under Klopp, the quality and versatility of Jota and Diaz offer the manager a plethora of additional options without a defined 'first choice'.
It's why the firepower now at Liverpool's disposal promises so much for the long term.
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