Jurgen Klopp revelled in the strength and depth of his Liverpool side as he was informed of a "wonderful" statistic which had slipped under the radar.
The German was speaking ahead of the visit of Villarreal on Wednesday, when the Reds will aim to continue their Champions League charge with a positive result in the semi-final first leg. The European crown is one of three remaining trophies Liverpool are aiming to win in search of an unprecedented quadruple.
No English team has ever won all four major trophies on offer in a single season yet the Merseyside club have a strong hand in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup having already secured the Carabao Cup. Liverpool owe a great deal of their success this season to the collective effort of a squad Klopp has previously labelled the "best I've ever had".
As shown by Divock Origi coming off the bench to score in Sunday's 2-0 victory over Everton, the Reds boss has been able to rely on his fringe players to make an impact when called on. Remarkably, a total of 20 Liverpool players have found the back of the net this season, proving just how much of a team effort it has been to reach this point of the season with the quadruple dream intact.
"It's a wonderful stat," Klopp responded when it was put to him on Tuesday. "Never had that before. A block on the line is like scoring for me. No lists for that but otherwise, has Ali [goalkeeper Alisson] scored yet?! He's made some saves that are like scoring. We have to show this ability."
While Origi sealed victory in the Merseyside derby, it was Andy Robertson who opened the scoring by arriving unmarked at the back post to latch onto Mohamed Salah's cross.
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It marked the Scotland captain's second goal of the season but it was also his first in front of the famous Kop at Anfield and prompted raucous celebrations. Klopp said: "Robbo celebrated on Sunday like it was his first! First in front of the Kop?
"Ah, that explains it! Whatever result we get tomorrow it'll be incredibly emotional at Villarreal so we have to create that tomorrow too." Stressing the need for Liverpool to take a commanding aggregate scoreline into the away leg, the 54-year-old added: "There are moments when we will suffer and I know that. We don't need to get nervous but we can make them suffer too. We will work with our result and fight at Villarreal because it means everything."
