The sense of euphoria in the Liverpool dressing room was tempered by the level of concern for their team-mate.
A cherished victory over Manchester City came at a heavy cost, with Diogo Jota taken off on a stretcher deep into stoppage time with a serious calf injury.
Ruled out until the New Year and with his World Cup dream in tatters, it’s a cruel blow for the Portugal international, who had worked so hard to get back from the persistent hamstring issues that hampered him throughout the summer and ruled him out of the opening month of the season.
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Manager Jurgen Klopp has been robbed of another elite attacker as he attempts to build momentum following that morale-boosting triumph over the Premier League champions.
A week after Luis Diaz suffered a knee injury against Arsenal that will keep him out until after the World Cup, which begins next month and finishes a week before Christmas, the man best equipped to fill that vacancy on the left flank is also facing an extended spell on the sidelines.
Jota, who was making only his second Premier League start of the season, will be sorely missed. He may have gone 21 appearances in all competitions without a goal dating back to April but his contribution has remained invaluable.
No one in Klopp’s squad can match his tally of five assists so far this season. On Sunday he showcased both sides of his game. He made four key passes — more than anyone else on the field — and made more tackles (five) and won more duels (eight) than any of his team-mates.
Since Klopp changed the system from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 (which at times morphs into 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4), more defensive duties have been expected of his wide players and Jota embraced that responsibility on Sunday in front of Andy Robertson.
Four days earlier, Klopp had made a late call to leave Jota out of the starting line-up for the Champions League game against Rangers after the medical department flagged fears he wasn’t capable of playing the full 90 minutes due to a minor issue. How the manager must wish he had eased his workload by taking him off late on against City before he lay on the Anfield turf in such discomfort.
With Wednesday’s visit of West Ham the first of eight games in the space of 25 days before the season stops for the World Cup, the question is how does Klopp reshape his depleted attack? Considering the general upturn in form since the formation switch four games ago, it would be a major surprise if he moves away from 4-4-2.
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Fabio Carvalho looks best placed to benefit from that vacancy wide on the left. The 20-year-old summer signing from Fulham started there at Ibrox and impressed Klopp and his staff with his temperament as much as his ability on the ball. They admired how he responded to the error that led to Rangers opening the scoring.
The Portugal Under-21 international followed up that display with a composed cameo off the bench on Sunday and has earned the trust of his manager.
Curtis Jones is another option for Klopp following his extended recovery from a stress reaction of the tibia. The academy graduate, who has not featured since the Community Shield in July, was an unused substitute against City. Jones is desperate to get his season up and running after such a frustrating spell.
Another player on the comeback trail for Liverpool is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been gradually cranking up the intensity of his training at Kirkby after three months out with a torn hamstring. Klopp has used him on both flanks previously. Out of contract next summer and expected to leave Anfield as a free agent, it’s a crunch period for Oxlade-Chamberlain. Although he is not registered to play in the Champions League, he could prove useful domestically.
It would certainly help Klopp juggle the demands of the schedule if Liverpool were to wrap up qualification for the last-16 of the Champions League with a game to spare by avoiding defeat away to Ajax next Wednesday.
In the absence of Diaz and Jota, the sight of Mohamed Salah rediscovering his mojo is certainly timely. It’s no coincidence the goals have started to flow for him again after being deployed more centrally.
A week after having one solitary touch inside Arsenal’s penalty area at the Emirates, Salah had half a dozen in the box against City. The decision to partner him with Roberto Firmino, who has the perfect skill set for that second striker role, paid dividends.
Darwin Nunez missed out on Sunday despite scoring in the two previous league games. His impact off the bench after replacing Firmino was mixed — his powerful bursts helped to ease the pressure but decision-making as Liverpool counter-attacked let him down.
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The big Uruguayan is no stranger to operating on the left in his career but it’s hard to see Klopp going down that route in a 4-4-2 as he’s clearly more effective through the middle.
The right side looked more secure on Sunday, with Harvey Elliott delivering his best performance of the season in front of the tireless James Milner.
With special training drills and video analysis, 19-year-old Elliott has been working hard with Pep Lijnders on the defensive side of his game. Away from Kirkby, the same messages are drummed into him by his dad Scott.
Father and son always have a lengthy post-match debrief and after the defeat to Arsenal, Harvey got it in the ear when he got home for allowing Ben White to get away from him to deliver a cross. Always eager to learn, he studied the footage and realised he should have got tighter. There were no such lapses against City.
It was a massive show of confidence in Elliott that Klopp picked him to start a game of such magnitude on Sunday ahead of captain Jordan Henderson. That faith was rewarded.
To lose Diaz and Jota in such quick succession extends a nightmare run of injury setbacks for Liverpool this season. Their resources are stretched but Klopp should still have enough firepower to build on Sunday’s precious triumph.
(Top photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
