It has been barely two weeks since a bewildered Jurgen Klopp was compelled to walk towards the away end and issue an apology to the disgruntled Liverpool fanbase.
Now the Reds boss will be hoping to greet the travelling Kop in a different mood with his players making a swift return to the scene of his worst afternoon as a manager.
History may judge the 3-0 Premier League defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion as a line in the sand when it comes to the evolution of the Liverpool squad under Klopp, the point of no return if not necessarily for individual players, then certainly their starting games together.
READ MORE: Truth behind FSG 'protests' as Spirit of Shankly move ignites Liverpool debate
READ MORE: Robbie Fowler identifies biggest issue behind Cody Gakpo struggles as Liverpool truth emerges
The change has already begun. An untried midfield trio of 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic - whose progress was rewarded on Thursday with a new contract - Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita helped the Reds ensure this afternoon's second January visit to the AMEX Stadium with an FA Cup third round replay win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and kept their places as Liverpool ground out a goalless draw at home to Chelsea last weekend.
"I liked the rhythm," says Klopp. "I liked the mix of offensive things and defensive readiness – I liked that. It was not the three alone, because the three alone can do nothing, but the front lines did that really good as well, that's really important to us.
"Brighton, a lot of things are clear what they are doing. You have to respect that and defend that. If you don't do that then you are screwed, there is no doubt about it."
Certainly, the likes of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson know they will have to address the form issues that have severely hampered them this campaign if they are to force their way back into the line-up. Opportunities will come, but the current triumvirate are the men in possession.
Events on the South Coast earlier this month still linger for Klopp, and are likely to do for some time. The ramifications are only just starting. "It is still the worst game I have ever seen," says the Reds boss. "Pretty much everything went wrong. We had to change the approach completely, not only against Brighton, but in general.
"We did really well in spells during the games (against Wolves and Chelsea). I think, the first half against Chelsea was really disciplined. Chelsea are a really good football team and we didn’t give them a lot of play through, which is important.
"That’s something we have to do similar against Brighton, of course. In the second half (against Chelsea), we built on the first half and started really well. We got a bit overly excited. We were not that compact, and the pressing was not that co-ordinated, and then Chelsea got two chances.
"That is something we want to work with and that’s where we want to go from. Compact in our case never means being very deep – we cannot do that. But in the decisive areas we need to be compact, we need to defend them well."
As well as a Brighton side vibrant under Roberto De Zerbi - even if they will be missing Moises Caicedo after the midfielder's head was turned one time too many during this month's transfer window - Liverpool will also have to contend with the omens. Exactly 39 years ago, they were beaten 2-0 at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round, the second successive year they were dumped out of the competition by the Seagulls. It was the only major trophy they failed to win that 1983/84 season.
Dealing with their most recent visit to the South Coast, though, has been the priority. "We had intense talks after the Brighton game," says Klopp. "We had to change immediately, and we did. A couple of days later we played against Wolves and it obviously looked completely different. After the game, I said it looked like two different sports.
"Now, we will not do the meeting where we show all the bad situations from Brighton, or it will be a proper horror show. We saw that already – we played it and saw it. If there is anything good about it, it was that it was that bad everybody was clear, it was not about here and there (that things need to change) it’s about general change and improvement of different things.
"You can lose a game, but if you don’t learn from it, it’s just a defeat. If you learn from it, then that’s important as well. We intend to do things like that."
READ NEXT:
Jurgen Klopp has a simple answer to why Mohamed Salah and Liverpool are 'suffering'
Real Madrid 'went crazy' when Liverpool beat Manchester United to teenage star of Spanish academy
Cody Gakpo wants Liverpool 'accident' and addresses position change after transfer
Moises Caicedo 'set to miss' Liverpool FA Cup tie after Brighton respond to transfer message
