Jurgen Klopp had long been an advocate of the mid-season break introduced by the Premier League in recent years to relieve some of the competition's relentless intensity.
But a near six-week shutdown before Christmas was undoubtedly not what the Liverpool boss had in mind.
For more than seven years since it was announced the 2022 World Cup would be shifting from summer to winter, the Reds - along with everyone else - have known this campaign would come to shuddering halt due to the controversial finals in Qatar.
