It doesn’t take long before conversation concerning Liverpool’s European glory days gravitates towards those famous Anfield nights, occasions that have been seared into the psyche of every Reds supporter.
This season, though, has seen a subtle shift in balance that Jurgen Klopp’s side will now hope to take into domestic efforts as they continue to pursue an historic trophy quadruple.
Liverpool took a sizeable step towards another Champions League semi-final with an impressive 3-1 win against Benfica at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday night in their quarter-final first leg.
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Having already conquered Porto’s Estadio do Dragao, the Wanda Metropolitano home of Atletico Madrid and triumphed at the San Siro against both Milan sides, it represented a fifth successive away win in the competition, a run during which 15 goals - out of an overall tally of 22 - have been scored and only five conceded.
Indeed, only twice before have Liverpool won their five successive games on the road in a European campaign, and never from the start of the Champions League proper.
It says much about the mentality of Klopp’s side they are able to cope with the hostile atmospheres of such venues while simultaneously negotiating the task in hand on the pitch.
Only at Atletico, when they let an early two-goal lead slip before winning late on against their 10-men opponents, has the Reds’ perfect away Champions League record been truly troubled this season.
Benfica had threatened a repeat when, shortly after half-time, Darwin Nunez halved a Liverpool lead earned by goals from Ibrahima Konate and Sadio Mane.
But the lessons learned on their travels allowed Klopp’s side to weather the subsequent brief home storm before again imposing their authority before Luis Diaz’s late strike to join Manchester United in becoming only the second English team to win three times at the Estadio da Luz.
Liverpool haven’t been stopped in away match since the 2-2 draw at Chelsea in January, a run of nine successive triumphs. On the road, they have scored in all but one of their last 36 games as the away team. Now, though, comes the ultimate test when they make the short journey down the East Lancs Road to take on Manchester City in Sunday’s titanic potentially title-defining tussle.
Pep Guardiola’s side aren’t invincible on their own patch, beaten by Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur and held by Southampton earlier in the campaign.
However, Liverpool’s recent record at the Etihad is poor, having not won in the Premier League since 2015. Defeat there, the only one of the 2018/19 top-flight campaign, ultimately cost Klopp’s men the title.
Sunday’s game is likely to prove similarly pivotal. Anything other than an away win would take the Reds’ championship destiny out of their own hands, while defeat would open up a four-point deficit with only seven games to go.
And even if Liverpool earn a positive outcome, their remaining Premier League away games are fraught with danger, the Reds having picked up just a solitary point last season from trips to Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Southampton.
Sure, home games against Everton, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers are hardly straightforward. But results away from Anfield will determine the success or otherwise for Liverpool over the closing weeks of the campaign.
While Klopp was, in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s win, characteristically cautious over Liverpool’s prospects of reaching the semi-finals, past experience underlines why they are now strong favourites to progress.
Eleven times the Reds have won an away first leg in European competition by two goals, and on each occasion they have safely negotiated the return.
Seven were by a 2-0 scoreline, the other four all 3-1 victories. But the 1-0 loss to Inter Milan in the last round was a warning matters may not be entirely straightforward in next Wednesday's return leg, with Liverpool having previously frayed Anfield nerves by losing the home leg against Roma in 2001 in the UEFA Cup, and in successive Champions League qualifying play-offs against Grazer in 2004 and CSKA Sofia 12 months later.
Liverpool haven’t quite done the job in Europe just yet. The focus now, however, is purely on City – and whether Klopp’s side can continue their remarkable away record.
