It didn't take long for Newcastle United supporters to dig out what has become somewhat of a classic chant for visiting away fans at Anfield in recent years.
The infamous Steven Gerrard /Demba Ba song was sung on the stroke of half-time which, perhaps, failed to prompt the response that travelling Geordies had hoped to generate.
Often in recent times when sides have chanted this with the intention of aggravating Liverpool supporters, the Kop and other areas of the ground have batted away the song by firing back with the original version of the Gerrard chant.
But there was simply no need for Reds fans to say anything at this attempt of rubbing salt in the wounds about the club's failed 2013/14 Premier League title charge.
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And that's because Liverpool have moved on - even if away supporters have not.
The Reds ended tedious talk of title failure by going all the way in the 2019/20 season, putting in the past the hurt of 2014 and embracing a new era.
Indeed, Gerrard’s recent return to the club as manager of Aston Villa only reinforced that both parties recognised that circumstances have changed.
The Liverpool legend refused to be drawn too much on his emotions ahead of his Anfield visit and those inside the ground struck the right balance: respectful, but not overindulgent.
Fans were right to applaud the 41-year-old when stepping out onto the pitch, but then it became a case of business. Three points were at stake, and Gerrard was just as eager to risk ruining his reputation for the benefit of his new employers.
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Two teams in particular who have kept up the 2014 chant about failing to deliver the top-flight title on their Anfield travels are Chelsea and Manchester United but, rather ironically, neither side have won the Premier League more recently than the Reds.
On the subject of the 2013/14 season, Thursday’s win over Newcastle similarly showed how Liverpool have laid to rest a Luis Suarez-related jibe that was often bandied about when Brendan Rodgers was at the helm.
Constantly referred to as a ‘one-man team’, particularly during the Uruguayan’s final campaign at the club, Jurgen Klopp’s current crop have proven yet again they are anything but that.
News of Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk being ruled out of the game prior to kick-off was viewed as a hammer blow, but this Liverpool team has too much talent in all areas of the pitch to allow standards to slip in the absence of key players.
The Reds were on their way to proving this point last season having ended 2020 on top of the Premier League, despite playing their final match of the calendar year against Newcastle with their three first-choice central defenders all sidelined.
Had it not been for a remarkable injury collapse in the squad, perhaps this truth would have been hammered home sooner.
But Klopp’s men will again have the chance to show just how strong they truly are, providing Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane all depart as planned for the Africa Cup of Nations next month.
Rival fans can continue to mock unfortunate events of years gone by, but the truth is that Liverpool are now focused on the future rather than what has come before.
