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.
