A morale-boosting victory in the Merseyside derby on Monday night has lifted some, if not all, of the gloom around Liverpool.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo were enough against the relegation-haunted Everton and suddenly the top-four charge doesn't look like such a pipe dream for Jurgen Klopp.
With Newcastle United to come on Saturday evening at St James Park, victory will see Klopp's men chop down that deficit further to six points, with a game in hand still to be played on the Magpies.
Ahead of that game, the ECHO brings you all the latest tidbits and gossip of what has been happening around Anfield of late.
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Thiago injury hope
In a season of frustrating injuries troubles, the latest for Thiago Alcantara was just another punch in the gut for Klopp. The Spain midfielder was not pictured in last Thursday's training session, immediately raising concerns from supporters ahead of Monday's derby.
Club sources at the time insisted he was merely undertaking an individually-tailored training session having felt something minor earlier in the week, but with four days until the game, it was still thought that Thiago might be cleared to play some part in the game, depending how he responded to the work undertaken on his own.
Klopp then said on Friday that it was looking unlikely Thiago would feature, but that he still needed to speak to the former Bayern Munich midfielder about his hip flexor issue and the severity of it. After conversations were held over Friday, it was quickly established that he would not be able to contribute against the Toffees.
As a result, it's now expected that Thiago will now be sidelined for around a month, although there are some at the club who are hopeful the setback won't be as long as that. A clearer indication will be forthcoming once it's clear how the injury has responded to treatment.
The player himself appeared in good spirits on Monday as he walked freely past the media with his wife Julia following the victory over Everton. The 31-year-old did not stop to offer an update but he did not appear to be in any real discomfort either. The hope will be that he can return earlier than what has been anticipated so far.
Liverpool fans can hold their heads high after chilling report
As he so often does, Jurgen Klopp struck the right note in the wake of the 21 recommendations made to UEFA by an independent report into the chaos outside the Stade de France last May.
"I think it’s super-important that, finally, it’s official, let me say it like this," Klopp said. "I’m not sure, at least in my life, there was never a case with more evidence, where I knew more about [it] when I was not directly involved, because I was on the other side of the wall in the stadium, pretty much.
"But families, friends, they were all there and everybody knew how our supporters behaved, but it really feels good, it feels just right that it’s now official and everybody knows it now because there were so many things said after the game, which we knew they were wrong. It was just lies. So, I’m really happy that it’s finally said officially."
The report itself said: "The dangerous conditions on the concourse outside the turnstiles were compounded by the police deploying tear gas at disorderly groups of locals, as well as using pepper spray on supporters trying to gain entrance with valid tickets," before adding, chillingly: "It is remarkable that no one lost their life."
Liverpool supporters can hold their heads high following the publishing of this report. It was only down to their calm, measured behaviour in the face of such sustained pressure that prevented a tragedy.
There was a mix of disbelief and frustration from those I spoke to after Monday's report was leaked to the media just a few hours before the Merseyside derby, but everyone who was sadly caught up in the events outside the Stade de France last May can take heart that their actions prevented a true catastrophe.
FSG still just 'testing the waters'
It was fascinating to pick the brains of former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton this week. The man who helped end the reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett at Anfield visited the ECHO's offices in Liverpool's city centre to chat about his time at the club and the plans for current owners Fenway Sports Group, who he is still in contact with.
You can read parts one and two of the chat in those respective links and we'll also have a special podcast detailing his time as Liverpool chairman in 2010 but the one thing that struck me during the conversation was how FSG are in no rush to sell the club.
It became public knowledge in November that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs had been instructed to search for investors, while Mike Gordon has essentially stepped away from his day-to-day running of Liverpool to assess what is potentially on offer but there is clearly no major rush to offload the club to new owners.
That is something we have continued to report on the ECHO's pages in recent months and something that has now been backed up by Mr Broughton, who spoke to current chairman Tom Werner directly about the FSG plans when the news of a potential sale was first reported.
What that means for a potential summer rebuild is interesting. There is little doubt that significant investment is needed in the playing squad but if FSG remain in situ without the help of external investors then it must surely force a re-think of the model they currently operate with for Anfield.
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