Liverpool supporters will always take great delight in watching Manchester United flounder when within touching distance of silverware.
But there will be a certain sense of satisfaction at one of the key reasons their bitter North West rivals fell short against Villarreal in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
Not least because United have discovered at the decisive moment in their campaign what Liverpool have known for months.
It's a lot more difficult to succeed when missing your best defender.
For United, that was Harry Maguire, the captain and chief centre-back who was a bedrock in their run to the Gdansk showpiece and second-placed finish in the Premier League.
Maguire picked up an ankle injury at Aston Villa earlier this month having previously sat out just four games all season and played every minute in the Premier League.
After losing just three of their previous 30 games - one of which was the semi-final return at Roma having already been 6-2 ahead from the first leg - United subsequently suffered the same number of defeats in their final five games without their skipper
Maguire's presence on the bench in the final was a token gesture given he was evidently nowhere near fit enough to feature.
And while United's ultimate failure was at the other end of the pitch, it was no coincidence their drop in form over the closing weeks came with their best defender missing.
Leicester struggled with the same issue during the final Premier League week, Jonny Evans ruled out of their last two games while fellow centre-back Wesley Fofana was forced off in the closing game at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Successive defeats opened the door for Liverpool so snaffle a Champions League berth with a run of 26 points from a possible 30 during an unbeaten end to the Premier League campaign.
Of course, Liverpool didn't just lose their best centre-back this season in the talismanic Virgil van Dijk. Come the halfway point, both Joe Gomez and Joel Matip were sidelined. By the end, February signings Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies were also out.
The Reds' strong ending to the campaign shows that it is always possible to adapt. That's why leading teams have deep squads and thriving Academies.
But it takes time to acclimatise to the loss of such an integral player - particularly if the replacements also keep picking up injuries - contributing to the woes for Jurgen Klopp's side during the early months of 2021 that saw them drop out of trophy contention.
Liverpool never used the absences as an excuse for their poor form, although the fanbase did become irked when the impact of such injuries was too readily dismissed by the same observers quickly pointing to the absence of Maguire for United's stumble with the finishing line in sight.
Maguire's absence wasn't the sole reason for the latest failure under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it didn't help.
And United learned the hard way that Liverpool supporters were right all along.
