This was supposed to be the period of the season when it all crumbled beneath Liverpool.
With no Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane or Naby Keita to choose from for most of January, the start of 2022 was being excitedly ringed on the calendars by the Reds' rivals as the time when it came crashing to a halt for Jurgen Klopp.
And after the year started with a pulsating draw at Chelsea that left Liverpool 11 points behind leaders Manchester City in the title hunt, that particular stance was only emboldened.
Since then, though, the Reds have raged against their supposed fate, reinvigorating their season in the process.
As Klopp and his staff get set for a welcome fortnight away from the fixture list, they can reflect on a massive three weeks or so that have renewed the charge on all fronts.
Despite having to wave goodbye to Mane, Salah and Keita, whose respective efforts at the Africa Cup of Nations go on in Cameroon, the side have not faltered.
"It's massive, yes massive, really," Klopp said after Sunday's 3-1 win at Crystal Palace.
"It's obviously January, a tricky period for us, historically since I've been in.
"Then on top of the tough schedule, we play not only without the three players in Africa, we have a lot of injuries on top of that.
"So it's a pretty small group to get through this but the boys did incredibly well."
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Liverpool have seen title challenges fall away at Selhurst Park before and as Palace surged forward in waves in the second half, the glimmer of hope that existed on the back of City's Saturday night draw with Southampton was being put firmly to the test.
That they held firm to emerge with three huge points now sees a campaign revived as we edge into the final third of it.
Into the Carabao Cup final where they will meet Chelsea at the end of February, a relatively manageable FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Cardiff will also confront them in just under two weeks.
Add in the return of Champions League football and the fact that an apparently insurmountable gap has been closed to nine - with a game in hand and a trip to the Etihad still to play - and reports of Liverpool's New Year demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Even those supporters who called for fresh blood in the transfer market to cover for the loss of the AFCON trio have seen the justification for those demands rendered mute.
There has been no great secret to Klopp 's ability to cope without his two star attackers and a gifted midfield cog.
Quite the opposite in fact.
The reality is much more straightforward as far as the Liverpool manager is concerned.
“When you lose key players to injuries or tournaments, the solution is not that you will be flying in the next game, that you say, 'okay, now we score five or six and will create chances like hell,'" he said on Friday.
“Wherever they are on the pitch, if they’re strikers, midfielders or whatever, you lose key players and you have to adapt. In our case it was 100% clear that we need to be solid, rock-solid.
"We have to be and we know that, it’s a clear agreement."
In the absence of Mane, Salah and Keita, others have stepped up - and while they have done that, there's been a timely reminder of the almost unique quality that sets this Liverpool team apart from others.
After seeing his 'wingman' Trent Alexander-Arnold secure another two assists to his overall tally in Thursday night's 2-0 win at Arsenal, Andy Robertson responded to their eternally friendly rivalry by doing the exact same himself against Palace.
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His outswinging free-kick was met firmly by Virgil van Dijk's head before Robertson's measured ball across the field was confidently dispatched by an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who himself has just cause to be proud of his efforts of late.
The two assists for Robertson moved him to up third in the Premier League's tally this term behind - you guessed it - Salah and Alexander-Arnold, who share 19 between them.
It's six assists between the pair for Liverpool's last eight goals and Alexander-Arnold may even feel aggrieved his wonderful, 60-yard ball to Jota is not formally recognised in the stats before the Reds won their late spot-kick at Palace.
Such has been Robertson's resurgence since he returned from an ankle injury that he has registered eight goal involvements in as many games, dating back to the 4-0 win against Southampton on November 27.
At a time when maybe one or two were beginning to wonder about the standard that Kostas Tsimikas could reach with a lengthy run in the side, Robertson's return to top form has been timely.
It's now 43 assists apiece for Robertson and Alexander-Arnold since the former joined the club from Hull in the summer of 2017 and the 3-0 win against Brentford earlier this month was the ninth Premier League game where both players have registered one.
And in the last four seasons, only Lionel Messi (47) and Thomas Muller (64) have created more for their team-mates than Alexander-Arnold's 42.
It will be fascinating to see just who comes out on top of that battle in the years to come.
"Is Robbo the best left-back in Europe? For me, yes, but I am sure that is too important," Klopp said after the win against Arsenal.
"It is a mix of his skillset and his mentality that makes him so special.
"You see the situations he has with the ball, he is a good footballer, but the desire he shows and he wants to defend with all that he has.
"I think that was a little bit of an issue when he came here in the early stages when he joined from Hull.
"He was already a massive talent but defending-wise we were not over the moon.
"He has improved a lot and now the full package, which is really helpful.
"But both full-backs are obviously quite good, which is the reason we have been quite successful in the past."
With Salah, Mane and Keita back before the next Premier League game and Harvey Elliott and Thiago Alcantara set to step up their comeback efforts before then, there is a feeling that Liverpool are in fact getting set to hit their strides at just the right time.
January was not the month when Liverpool were blown off course.
On the contrary; a squad that has dug deep into its vast reserves of character have instead found the stomach for the fight on all fronts.
