The year 2021 was a mixed one for Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool side.
It was the year that saw six successive Anfield games lost, the one where Alisson Becker scored and Manchester United were beaten 5-0 at Old Trafford.
It was the year when fans were locked out until August, the Reds went 764 minutes without an Anfield goal from open play and Everton were beaten 4-1 at Goodison Park.
So as the year comes to a close, the ECHO looks back at some of the good and the bad of 2021.
1) Your personal highlight of the year
It has to be the moment Alisson Becker resuscitated Liverpool's flatlining top-four hopes.
Never before has a Liverpool goalkeeper scored a goal in 129 years of club history but as the Reds were trudging towards a damaging draw at West Brom - one that would have surely ended Champions League hopes - it was Alisson who changed all of that in a blink.
Meeting a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner with the kind of aerial prowess that would have made the great John Toshack salute, Alisson's header was enough to secure a priceless win.
The Brazilian's moving interview after the game about the death of his father and what football meant to him was touching too.
Alisson's very own 'Jimmy Glass Moment' was the standout of 2021.
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2) Your personal lowlight of 2021
No-one will remember the behind-closed-doors era of the Premier League fondly.
But Liverpool's run of successive home defeats, between the bitterly cold months of January and March, was a particularly disappointing time.
Alisson Becker lost his father and Jurgen Klopp dealt with the passing of his mother around that same time and the supporters' inability to rally around their grief-stricken heroes in the stadiums at that time was heartbreaking.
From a personal point of view, covering the 4-1 and 2-0 defeats to Manchester City and Everton during that run of six straight losses at Anfield are probably tied for the lowlight.
Liverpool's relinquishing of the Premier League title was underlined as City ran riot in the second half just a few weeks before Everton won their first game at Anfield since 1999.
It went from bad to worse and then some during those early weeks of the year.
3) Your player of the Year
This simply has to be Mohamed Salah.
With 31 goals last season, the Egyptian is already on 21 for this campaign and is probably the world's best player as we edge ever nearer to 2022.
Where Liverpool would have landed last season without his goals does not even bear thinking about for Jurgen Klopp and some of his goals this season already have been out of this world.
With him in the side, Liverpool have every chance of adding to the glittering collection of trophies secured over the last few years.
An honourable mention for Trent Alexander-Arnold who has been blistering since returning to form around March time.
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4) The biggest disappointment of 2021
After going close to four years without a home defeat in the Premier League, seeing it eroded over the course of a sterile, freezing 90 minutes in January was tough to take.
That it was the limited Burnley, of all teams, who ended that run was perhaps a sign that all was not well in the Liverpool camp.
A tame, uneventful game was settled via Ashley Barnes' late penalty as Klopp saw an impressive record of 68 games unbeaten come to a crashing halt.
It only got worse from there as Brighton, Fulham, Everton, Man City and Chelsea all walked away from Anfield with maximum points over the following weeks.
5) Best match of 2021
The 2-2 draw with Tottenham earlier this month had the lot, but how could the October trip to Old Trafford not top this list?
Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool.
It's a scoreline that few would have dreamed up in their wildest fantasies in the build up to it, but over the course of one incredible afternoon in Manchester, Jurgen Klopp's side ran riot.
They were 4-0 up at half time and the respective reactions of Sir Kenny Dalglish and Alex Ferguson spoke volumes when the Sky Sports cameras panned to them at 5-0.
A day that anyone privileged enough to be there will ever forget.
Another honourable mention for a certain 4-1 win at Goodison Park, too.
6) Best individual performance of 2021
Mohamed Salah bagging a hat-trick at Old Trafford takes some beating, but the Egyptian has managed it with his own performance in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
Not content with one of the assists of the season for Sadio Mane's opener, Salah then provided a moment of genius to put Liverpool 2-1 win.
His mazy dribble that took him past several City players had Anfield on its feet before he rattled a right-footed shot past Ederson to shake the place to its core.
Those 'best player in the world' claims started to be taken more seriously after that particular performance.
7) What made you smile in 2021
Liverpool's chaotic 3-3 draw with Leicester City in the Carabao Cup this month had a rare quality to it.
While nerves are often fraught when fighting for the game's biggest prizes, the second half of a competition that represents the lowest priority for the club meant that there was an element of fun to it that is not always there.
While some fans across social media rage and debate the lack of transfer activity ad nauseum and the stresses of a title race mean every dropped point is treated as fatal, the penalty shootout win over Leicester reminded many of just why they love the game deep down.
