That it came on Boxing Day was mere coincidence. But the hard-fought win at Aston Villa on the resumption of the Premier League underlined how Liverpool are now rolling their sleeves up for a lengthy scrap for Champions League qualification.
An inconsistent first part of the campaign ahead of the international break has left the Reds playing catch-up as they look to secure a top-four finish for the seventh successive season.
It won't be easy. Liverpool may have beaten Villa 3-1 but the only two teams in the top half of the table who failed to win during the last round of matches were Brentford and fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, and that was because they drew 2-2 against each other.
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That result at least allowed Liverpool to close the gap to Antonio Conte's side to five points with a game in hand, with a chance to edge nearer when they entertain Leicester City this evening, their first game at Anfield in almost seven weeks.
Having squabbled with London trio Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea in recent times along with Manchester duo City and United, Jurgen Klopp is all too aware the emergence of state-owned Newcastle United has further changed the dynamic. Seven into four simply won't go.
The Liverpool boss, though, has reiterated it will be an uncomfortable experience for those ahead in the table as his side begin the task of hauling themselves back into contention.
"I think it was tough every year, to be honest," says Klopp regarding Champions League qualification. "We did it quite early for three of the last four years. Credit to us if you want because it was always tricky but, of course, we all knew that Newcastle would be a massive contender from now on and it’s clear with Man United, Arsenal playing an exceptional season, all respect for that, City is City so all of a sudden you have four teams occupying, Tottenham fighting hard, Chelsea still there.
"We are back to a top six or top seven, if you like, and only four can make it. We know that, we know that absolutely. The quality of the opponents is obviously clear but most of the things we can still sort ourselves.
"If they win all the time we cannot get closer but we meet some of them and, for us, we are under pressure like other teams are under pressure because it’s not the nicest thing to have us three or five points behind you. That doesn’t give you any kind of security but we better play a special second half of the season to have a chance to make it to the Champions League, which is obviously our target."
Arsenal and Manchester City are expected to lock in two of the top four places as they battle for the title, although Klopp believes it would be unwise to discount Newcastle's claims.
"It looks in the moment like that but Newcastle is very close there as well," he says. "They are very close. Do we fight for one place? I couldn’t care less actually, one of them will do! It will be tough, definitely. Everyone can be excited about the season because it will be a massive fight.
"There will be a lot of spectacular football games. We saw that already. The league (re)started in an exceptional manner. The intensity was insane of all the games. A lot of good football to come."
Klopp's predecessor Brendan Rodgers makes his latest return to Anfield on the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Newcastle, with the Liverpool boss mindful of what may be in store.
"I expect a tough game and I expect a reaction," he says of Leicester. "They changed the system during the game (against Newcastle), that makes it now a little bit tricky to prepare for a specific system. They played with five in the back, they played 4-2-3-1, in this game now changed to a diamond, which looked I think more stable in that moment. Will Brendan decide to do that again? I don’t know."
Ibrahima Konate is in contention for the first time after starring for France in the World Cup final with Klopp likely to rotate his resources, with Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita and Fabio Carvalho among those pressing for a start.
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