As Man City travelled to Merseyside to take on Everton on Saturday evening, looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table, the first flurry of Liverpool fans started to descend on the capital.
In normal circumstances the Reds would be in poor spirits at falling further behind Pep Guardiola’s side. Especially when coming just days after they had halved the deficit to just three points.
But they’ve known this prospect was looming for over for a month now, and nothing was going to sour their mood on a rare weekend where Jurgen Klopp’s men have bigger fish to fry than concerning themselves with the title-race.
It’s League Cup final weekend and for those Liverpool supporters travelling to London on Saturday, they had dreams and songs to sing ahead of their trip to Wembley.
With the Reds taking part in a final at the home of English football for the first time in 2016, and going in search of their first domestic cup win for a decade, visits to the once proclaimed Anfield South have been few and far between in recent years.
As such, excitement was inevitably high. For a generation of young Liverpool fans, who have seen their side crowned champions of England, Europe and the world, this was their first domestic cup final and their first visit to Wembley
At the other end of the scale, some supporters will be taking in their 13th League Cup final, having been present for every one of the Reds’ final appearances in this competition dating back to their controversial 1978 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
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Then there’s those in the middle, including club owner John W. Henry and his wife Linda Pizzuti, who were pictured in high spirits out and about around London on Saturday after flying in from the United States for Sunday’s showpiece final - their fourth major domestic cup final since FSG bought the club back in 2010.
And why shouldn’t they be in high spirits?
Liverpool’s owners have their critics and have certainly made their mistakes during their time in charge of Anfield, with their relationship with supporters fractured more than ever before after last year’s attempted involvement in the failed European Super League.
But after an injury-plagued campaign heighted frustrations and derailed the Reds’ progression under their watch, Klopp’s side are back to their very best heading into Sunday’s Wembley appearance.
Still competing on four fronts, the League Cup offers Liverpool the opportunity to win the first trophy of the season and tick off the first leg of an unprecedented quadruple.
Three points behind Man City prior to their trip to Everton, knowing the two title challengers have to lock horns in April, their hopes of a second Premier League title are back in their hands.
And after beating Inter Milan 2-0 at the San Siro, they have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals, while an FA Cup fifth round clash with Norwich City at Anfield on Wednesday provides the promise of another potential Wembley trip slowly emerging on the horizon.
With only Roberto Firmino missing through injury from Klopp’s squad for the League Cup final, the Reds’ preparations for the final have been as close to perfect as they can get.
They travel to Wembley off the back of nine straight wins, including their most-recent emphatic 6-0 victory over Leeds United which narrowed the gap on City, and are unbeaten from 12 matches in 2022.
Meanwhile, they have lost just twice this season and five times in the past 12 months, with two of those coming within days of each other at the start of March, to Chelsea and to Fulham, when their plight looked at its bleakest.
They are the Premier League's in-form team and boast the world’s best player in Mohamed Salah.
In the Egyptian, they boast the division’s leading goalscorer (19 goals) and playmaker (10 assists). For good measure Diogo Jota (12) and Sadio Mane (11) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (10) and Andy Robertson (9) complete the Reds dominance at the top of both charts.
The leading goalscorers in the Premier League overall, only Man City and Chelsea have conceded less.
And having welcomed star players like Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott back from injury in recent weeks, along with Mane, Salah and Naby Keita’s return from the Africa Cup of Nations, everything at Anfield is well.
As such, Henry can go to bed on Saturday night looking forward to his day at Wembley, dreaming of Liverpool adding another trophy to FSG’s collection.
But there’s a dark cloud hanging over us all as the Reds prepare to take on Chelsea and one that leaves Sunday's final ultimately rather insignificant.
It’s a different story over at Stamford Bridge as a result, where the form of record signing Romelu Lukaku has quickly been usurped as their biggest cause for concern.
Last weekend, the £97.5m man was the Premier League’s big talking point after registering a division-low seven touches in victory over Crystal Palace. Dropped for their midweek win over Lille, his future at the club is in doubt after just six months.
But that pales in comparison to what’s going on with Russian owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, due to his reported ties to Vladimir Putin.
Thomas Tuchel admitted in the week that his players had been impacted by the latest global news, after Parliamentary privilege was used by Labour MP Chris Bryant to state that Abramovich should not be allowed to own Chelsea because of his alleged ties to Putin.
“We are aware of it and it’s distracting us, it’s worrying us," said Tuchel.
As Henry and Pizzuti prepare for Wembley by taking in London, Abramovich will understandably be nowhere to be seen in the capital on Sunday.
Well-aware of the backlash he is facing, he responded with a club statement on Saturday night handing over control of Chelsea Football Club.
“During my nearly 20-year ownership of Chelsea FC, I have always viewed my role as a custodian of the club, whose job it is ensuring that we are as successful as we can be today, as well as build for the future, while also playing a positive role in our communities,” he wrote.
“I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart. I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.
“I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the club, players, staff, and fans.”
As perfect as Liverpool’s League Cup final preparations have been, Chelsea’s have been anything but.
Ambramovich’s forced distancing from the club he has owned since 2003 might have been taken so the reigning European champions can carry on this season without his cloud hanging over their head, but unanswered questions remain and aren’t going anywhere.
Young Liverpool supporters will be naive of such world events and be full of Wembley joy this weekend, but the rest of us, while trying to revel in the Reds’ success, are well-aware of the global horrors currently occurring in Ukraine at Putin’s hand and refuse to turn a blind eye.
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death,” legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said. “I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."
As Klopp’s side get ready to battle Chelsea at Wembley, events 1,500 miles away in Ukraine ensure the Scot’s tongue-in-cheek comments have never been further from the truth.
