Liverpool marked their return to Premier League action with a hard-fought 3-1 win away to Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
First-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk gave Jurgen Klopp's men a comfortable lead at the break, as the Reds looked set to cruise to victory in the midlands. But a reply from Villa striker Ollie Watkins had the travellers concerned for 22 second-half minutes, only for Stefan Bajcetic - on just his second Premier League appearance for the Reds - to wrap up the win with a fine goal.
It was the perfect response from Klopp and co, who'd crashed out of the EFL Cup on Thursday after being on the wrong end of a 3-2 thriller with Manchester City. Meanwhile, Villa boss Unai Emery wasn't able to make it three league wins from as many games since succeeding Steven Gerrard before the World Cup break.
Here are seven talking points from Villa Park.
1. Klopp's late Christmas present
With a 44-day break from Premier League football, Jurgen Klopp had plenty of time to sort out his Christmas presents this year. And while we're sure he treated his family and friends, not many would've guessed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would receive a special gift from the Liverpool manager.
For the first time since February, Klopp handed the 29-year-old a start in the Reds' frontline. Out of contract at the end of this season, Oxlade-Chamberlain's future at Anfield is dependant on the next six months, but it seems that his boss is certainly willing to give him a chance to impress.
2. Salah keeps on bucking the trend
Away from home, it's been a wretched campaign for Liverpool. The Reds had only one won Premier League game on the road before making the trip to Villa Park - and that was their last away outing. That day at Tottenham Hotspur, it was Mohamed Salah who broke the deadlock and he did exactly the same in Birmingham.
With just five minutes on the clock, the Egyptian struck again after Andy Robertson got on the end of Trent Alexander-Arnold's sensational pass and squared the ball back across goal for a Salah tap-in. Klopp's side had begun to garner a reputation for being slow starters - hinted at during the EFL Cup defeat to Manchester City in midweek - but they've now taken the lead inside the first 11 minutes in their last three league matches.
3. Reds' records tumbling
While it may've been Alexander-Arnold's magic that created Liverpool's opening goal, Salah and Robertson wheeled away with the plaudits from the statisticians. Firstly, Salah's goal was his 172nd for the club which took him level Reds legend Kenny Dalglish's tally.
And for Robertson, his 54th assist in the Premier League saw him overtake Everton icon Leighton Baines in the history books when it comes to defenders. As Liverpool continued to probe for a second goal later in the first half, both Salah and Robertson had opportunities to contribute again but couldn't break the Villa backline once more themselves, leaving it to one of their teammates.
4. Van Dijk's triumphant return
The debate will likely never end when it comes to where Virgil van Dijk stands in the history of Liverpool's great defenders. But there should be doubt that in this Reds side, the Dutchman stands as without doubt the best.
Having sat out Thursday's loss in Manchester, Van Dijk's omission was stark while watching Liverpool's hapless defending - albeit against City's awesome attack. It was no surprise, then, that the big man being back in action at Villa Park helped improve Klopp's defence, although his manager perhaps didn't anticipate his impact at the other hand. With half-time approaching, Van Dijk patiently waited to feed off scraps at a Reds corner and make it 2-0, via a slight but significant deflection off Ezri Konsa to beat Robin Olsen.
5. Watkins the thorn again
After it looked like he was taking part in a 'who could go closest without scoring' competition with Darwin Nunez, Ollie Watkins finally got on the scoresheet in the 59th minute to turn an already exciting encounter into a true contest. Once again seeking to exploit the right-hand defensive channel between Joel Matip and Alexander-Arnold, the former Exeter and Brentford ace popped up with a fine header to make it 2-1, converting Douglas Luiz's delicious delivery.
Having had an effort ruled out for a marginal offside a few minutes earlier, the goal was Watkins' fifth goal against Liverpool in as many games. Even more concerning for the Reds is that it meant they've only kept one clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season and that was a goalless draw at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby.
6. Nunez needs target practice
Oh, Darwin Nunez. Blessed with all the attributes required to be a monstrous modern-day number nine, it's just not clicking for Liverpool's £68million man, despite his all-round promising displays.
Nine goals in 19 games certainly doesn't suggest that the Reds' investment has been a total failure so far, but the sheer amount of missed chances - an alarming four this time out - must make the Anfield bigwigs weep. After a struggling first 75 minutes, during which he looked typically lackadaisical in front of goal, Nunez finally looked to have the perfect scoring opportunity as the closing stages dawned and Liverpool were still hanging onto their slender-one goal lead.
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Bearing down on goal after burning away from Konsa, the Uruguayan scuffed a shot across Olsen and the ball slid out for a goal kick to Villa's relief. Fortunately for the Reds, it wasn't a fatal miss, but what Nunez needs to work on is becoming glaringly clear.
7. Bajcetic's magic moment
In contrast to Nunez fluffing his lines, Liverpool academy prodigy Stefan Bajcetic came off the bench to score his first senior goal with an elegant finish which sealed all three points. The 18-year-old Spanish youth international, whose dad played for Serbia, profited from Nunez's final miss in the 81st minute, slotting home the rebound after skipping past onrushing defenders. Game over.
