Gomez the impressionist
If Diogo Jota's intervention was so typical of Liverpool's No.20 in this 2-0 win over Watford, the contribution of the man who supplied the assist, Joe Gomez, was very much not. Adequately filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold must be the most difficult task in European football.
After all, the Reds' right-back not only plays an integral part of a defence that had conceded just two goals in their last nine games prior to kick-off, he is also the creative fulcrum of a Liverpool team who are determined to conquer the world this season.
So there will have been plenty of eyes being rubbed around Anfield to check for the identity of the crosser for Jota's header after centre-back Gomez had slung in a delivery that Alexander-Arnold himself would have been proud to count among his countless assists.
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It was Gomez's first since supplying Mohamed Salah in a Merseyside derby way back in December 2017, and in a season without "rhythm" as Jurgen Klopp says of his defender, it was a vital moment for a player who is still, remarkably, just 24.
There has been plenty of talk over Gomez's state of mind this season having been relegated to fourth choice centre-half and starting just two Premier League games - both at full-back - but given his age, quality and mental strength, as evidenced by his repeated comebacks from long-term injuries, the London-born defender has proven he has the stomach for the personal fight.
"That's the nature of playing for this club that is fighting for all competitions," he said after the game. "It's a tough environment to be in and we have to push each other each week. That's our job, to stay ready."
For the remainder of the campaign, he will be forced to settle for the bit-part roles as the battle for the quadruple goes on, but the summer months will be key to him forcing Klopp into a centre-back re-think. For now, giving a passable impression of Alexander-Arnold will do.
A case for the defence
An April that was billed as season-defining and potentially era-shaping has started without too many conclusions that are able to be drawn. But one that can be reasonably sketched out now is the muscle memory of Liverpool's defence that will hold them steady on the rocky road to come.
It's now just two goals conceded on a 10-game league winning run that stretches back to January and only four have been shipped across the entirety of 2022 as we move into the penultimate month of the season.
Liverpool were several levels below their absolute best against a relegation-threatened Watford here, but while the attackers largely failed to sparkle, the defenders held firm, limiting the visitors to very little beyond one good chance for Joao Pedro that might have raised the cold hand of VAR had it gone in anyway in the second half.
With February's Player of the Month, Joel Matip, firmly established alongside a Virgil van Dijk who is nearing his imperious, world-leading best, Liverpool's tilt at Premier League glory is being powered by the foundations at the back.
It's now 492 minutes since the Reds last conceded in the Premier League and not a single point has been dropped at Anfield since late October when Brighton pilfered a 2-2 draw.
The high defensive line will continue to garner unflattering attention while the era of the deliberately delayed offside flag endures, but the proof is in the pudding for Klopp.
Salah's week to forget changes nothing
It was a week to forget from a personal perspective for Mohamed Salah.
After the green beams of Senegal support sadly contributed to a decisive penalty miss in Egypt's World Cup play-off shootout defeat on Tuesday, Salah was back in the Liverpool team at Anfield, where the only laser focus is on winning a quadruple.
And having slammed nine goals past Watford prior to Saturday's game, including a Goal of the Season contender in October's 5-0 win at Vicarage Road, the 'Egyptian King' was a marked man.
Time and again he found himself swamped by yellow shirts when in possession and with Gomez not quite providing the same sort of relief from the man-marking that Alexander-Arnold naturally provides him down the right, Salah's 69 minutes were subdued.
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Eventually trudging off for Sadio Mane, the game marked Salah's seventh without a goal from open play dating back to that 3-1 win at home to Norwich City in mid-February.
If this represents something of a mini-crisis, then it is only because of the otherworldly standards he has set for himself this and every other season he has been a Liverpool player.
But if your glass is half full then it is heartening to see the Reds maintaining their push for every honour collectable at a time when Salah is enduring a bit of a drought in front of goal, penalties aside.
The contract situation rumbles on in the background, of course, and while there is obviously merit to the clearly-defined and responsibly-managed wage structure put in place at the club, those sums only preserve the financial model that protects the bottom line of owners Fenway Sports Group, ultimately.
How much of a part those stalling negotiations are playing in a slight lull for Salah right now only he will know, but it could serve as the biggest fillip of modern times if it was to be resolved imminently.
