How typical the moment for which many Liverpool supporters have been desperately waiting should prove so strangely bittersweet.
Despite a season that has thus far at times proven interminably painful, there will have been a certain sense of regret when Anfield waved goodbye to their heroes for the foreseeable future.
Rather than being warmly embraced as an opportunity to refresh and reset, the break for the World Cup comes at a time when Jurgen Klopp’s side have finally gained a semblance of momentum.
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Of course, such has been Liverpool’s inconsistency since the summer, it would be foolish to offer any conclusive argument a corner has been turned. There have been too many false dawns to justify such a bold claim.
But the manner in which the Reds backed up their impressive win at Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday by swatting aside Southampton here at Anfield offered sufficient optimism to sustain Liverpool fans throughout the next five or so weeks.
Throw in the Champions League triumph over Napoli and the Carabao Cup downing of Derby County on penalties, the Reds have earned four successive victories for the first time this season, and are still in touch with the Premier League top four.
Klopp was watching from the Main Stand as he served his one-match suspension, in constant communication with Vitor Matos on the bench as Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders cajoled the team from the touchline.
And the Reds boss will have been particularly encouraged by the performance of Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan’s stuttering early-season travails mirrored that of the team, taking time to find his feet in a new team, league and country.
Nunez, though, is now justifying Liverpool’s potential £85million commitment. His two well-taken goals, while operating on the left flank in a 4-3-3, moved him on to nine for the campaign, and his overall display underlined once again that when he’s on the pitch, things happen.
The same can increasingly be said of Harvey Elliott, the teenager's effervescent performance in midfield fully meriting the standing ovation on his substitution midway through the second half.
There was also most certainly a point proven by Roberto Firmino mere days after being overlooked by Brazil for the World Cup. Rather than mope, the forward, who may yet extend his Liverpool stay beyond the end of the season, was at his busy best, nodding in the opener and involved in the build-up to the other two goals.
While forthcoming events in Qatar will prove a distraction, much of the attention among supporters will now turn to owners Fenway Sports Group and the latest in what may ultimately prove the endgame of their Anfield tenure.
Indeed, if there has been a steadying of matters on the field, in the corridors of power change is very much afoot, chief executive Billy Hogan assuming greater responsibilities as Mike Gordon takes a step back.
And there will too be inevitable focus on what could transpire during the January transfer window, with it not being a great leap to regard Klopp’s assertion on Friday there are times when a squad needs to bolstered by recognised quality as a call for reinforcements in the New Year. The vacuum without games means such speculation is only going to intensify.
This farewell victory was won before half-time, when not even the shock of a Southampton equaliser could alter the pattern of play during a first half in which Liverpool were irresistible going forward.
They went ahead after just six minutes. After a marauding Mohamed Salah was hauled down by Duje Caleta-Car, the free-kick from Andy Robertson was whipped in from the left and Firmino’s glancing header dropped beyond the despairing dive of Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
But the visitors were level three minutes later, James Ward-Prowse curling in an excellent free-kick delivery from the left and Che Adams losing Virgil van Dijk to head home.
Liverpool, though, were undeterred in their attacking approach. And once their movement began to click, Southampton were placed under constant pressure, only the heroics of goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu – saving from Firmino, Nunez and Salah – keeping the score down.
When Liverpool did find a way through, it was in impressive fashion. Their second goal, on 21 minutes, was reward for constantly recycling the ball around the Southampton area, the pressure ending with Elliott picking out Nunez at the far post with a clipped cross and the Uruguayan volleying in left-footed.
And, four minutes before the break, Firmino’s perceptive pass sent the outstanding Robertson scurrying away down the left flank, with his low cross turned home at the near post by a sliding Nunez.
Southampton roused themselves for a period after half-time and, with Liverpool lacking intensity, Alisson Becker saved superbly when left one-on-one with both Mohamed Elyounoussi and Samuel Edozie in the same attack before later pawing away an Adams header.
But Liverpool had eased down the gears long before a late flurry saw Van Dijk and Salah come close to sealing the victory.
Klopp vacated his stand seat after the final whistle and joined his players on the pitch for their pre-match celebrations, offering a cheery wave to the Kop before disappearing down the tunnel.
This strange season now goes into hibernation. Exactly who will be available for Liverpool when hostilities are resumed at Manchester City shortly before Christmas will now be the main preoccupation of supporters. Regardless of when a World Cup is played, some things never change.
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