It would be something of an understatement to suggest that Manchester City's trips to Anfield have become a crucial event in the Premier League title race.
That being said, when Liverpool fans peruse their club's fixture list at the start of the season, City's trip to Merseyside might as well be down as 'Raheem Sterling returns'.
No visiting player is afforded quite the same 'welcome' to Anfield as the England international, with Reds fans sticking to the script as they unleashed a chorus of boos following Sterling's second-half introduction on Sunday evening.
More than six years on from his Liverpool exit, it's clear the wounds on the red half of Merseyside have yet to heal.
You'd do well to find a Liverpool fan anywhere in the world who's struggling to sleep at night because they're worried about Sterling's lack of form at club level recently, with the 26-year-old picking up where he left off last season and struggling to break into the City starting XI.
By the way, it's not lost on us that in between the 2020/21 season and the current campaign he played a starring role in his country's first-ever run to a European Championship final, but for some reason it's almost as though Euro 2020 never even happened.
In fairness, Sterling's link-up play and movement in the draw at Anfield were impressive, and despite not managing to find a winning goal he gave Pep Guardiola plenty to think about over the international break.
While impressive displays will undoubtedly help Sterling wriggle his way back into the Catalan tactician's plans, one particular moment in the game suggested the England forward definitely has a future at the club - and it happened before he was even on the pitch.
Be honest, nearly all of Guardiola's attacking players are very similar in that they're technically superb. Sterling is the enigma.
It isn't a slight on him at all to suggest that the likes of Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne are far better technicians than Sterling, but the winger more than makes up for this with his clever movement and ability to relentlessly pull defences around with acceleration and guile.
While City's more methodical build-up played a huge part in their success under Guardiola last season, suffocating sides before eventually creating space for them to exploit, such an approach doesn't necessarily play to the strengths of an explosive forward like Sterling.
However, with a goalkeeper like Ederson, City always have the option to spring a surprise on the opposition.
Despite dominating the first half against Liverpool, City found themselves heading for the interval with the scores locked at 0-0. As the Brazilian shot-stopper received the ball to feet, he picked his head up and in one swoop of his left boot did what would usually take City 32 passes as he carved open the Liverpool backline.
Phil Foden latched onto the majestic 80-yard pass, only to be denied by Ederson's countryman Alisson as he rushed out of his goal to divert the ball away from danger.
Completely bypassing the defence and midfield to create a gilt-edged chance may not be Guardiola's go-to style, though you can be sure if Foden had stuck the ball in the back of the net the City boss would've celebrated with the same passion as if his side had just finished off a 127-pass move.
One of the biggest challenges that comes with facing Guardiola's side is trying to press with enough intensity to disrupt their flow - something Jurgen Klopp alluded to in his post-match interview - and so sides can often be guilty of pressing a little too high and leaving space in behind.
These are the kinds of situations Sterling can exploit, and it would come as no surprise to hear that Ederson had always intended to ping a long ball over the top after spending the first half trying to convince Liverpool that the visitors would be playing out from the back for the entire 90 minutes.
Sterling is the perfect man to run in behind a backline and collect an Ederson long ball, and had he been the man on the end of the Brazilian's pass in the 44th minute then City may well have come away from Anfield with all three points.
There's still plenty of work to be done if he's to cement his place back in City's starting XI but rest assured it won't be lost on Guardiola just what Sterling can bring to the side if they look to mix things up.
Do you think Sterling has a future at City? Follow our City Is Ours content editor Ross Jackson on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
