There was to be no trademark triple fist-pump from Jurgen Klopp as he walked over to greet the jubilant Liverpool fans sat high among the gods at St James’ Park.
Such an intervention was unnecessary, though. This, after all, was a performance that spoke for itself.
In a fixture widely circled as a potential banana skin in their quest for a quadruple, the heavily-rotated Reds delivered a display that underlined why they remain in such an unprecedented position.
