Liverpool were hurting.
They had the previous day somehow contrived to fritter away a dominant performance at Leicester City with a calamitous late collapse that saw a 1-0 lead transformed into a demoralising 3-1 defeat.
Had they won, the Reds would have moved into third place. Instead, a fifth defeat in eight cast further doubt over their Champions League qualification aspirations.
And Mohamed Salah, who had netted Liverpool's goal at the King Power Stadium, was compelled to send a message to the bewildered fanbase.
"It’s been a tough period for many reasons," he said. "We are champions and we will fight like champions, until the very end.
"We will not allow this season to be defined by the recent results we’ve had. That is my promise to all of you."
The date was February 14. Jurgen Klopp's side ended the weekend down in sixth place, with both Everton and Aston Villa having games in hand to push them further down the table.
Indeed, matters would get worse before they improved, successive home defeats to Everton, Chelsea and Fulham - resulting in a club record six in a row - leaving Liverpool in eighth place with 10 games to play, four points off the top four having played a game more.
Then came the revival.
A hard-earned win at Wolves. A demolition of Arsenal at the Emirates. A last-minute triumph at home to Aston Villa.
Even the setbacks against Leeds United and Newcastle United, against whom late equalisers were conceded, would provide a galvanising force.
Those draws came during the week when Liverpool's players made a stand against the club's owners regarding the proposed European Super League, the Reds' involvement unwittingly placing the squad in the firing line.
And skipper Jordan Henderson admitted Klopp's side were less than impressed by Leeds laying out t-shirts in the away dressing at Elland Road emblazoned with the message "Champions League - Earn It".
"The t-shirts, I felt, were disrespectful," he said to the New York Times. "The players hadn't done anything. It wasn't something we wanted."
A little extra fuel had been thrown on to Liverpool's growing fire.
Further disruption came in the form of protesting Manchester United fans that saw the scheduled May 2 clash at Old Trafford postponed and left the Reds finishing the season with five must-win games in 16 days.
It also presented United with a ridiculous run of three Premier League games in five days during which they prioritised the visit of Liverpool ahead of a home clash with Leicester, who had emerged as the Reds' main rivals for a top-four spot.
But having become battled-hardened by the relentless succession of setbacks earlier in the campaign, Klopp and his men just rolled up their sleeves and got on with it.
Southampton, United, West Bromwich Albion and Burnley were all beaten, each with goals in the closing moments - demonstrating the new-found appetite to scrap until the last kick with an attainable target in sight. As in previous seasons, they found a way.
Sure, Liverpool were helped by both Chelsea and Leicester City being distracted by cup commitments. Once Liverpool were dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, their only focus was the Premier League.
That, though, is not to undermine the achievement of Sunday's 2-0 triumph over Crystal Palace that meant they had won their final five league games - only the sixth time the Reds had achieved such a feat since returning to the top flight in 1962.
Back, then, to Salah. The forward has constantly been dogged by suggestions in some quarters he is more concerned about personal glory than team success, his pursuit of the Golden Boot regarded as supportive evidence.
This viewpoint is as bizarre as it is stupid and falls apart under even the slightest of scrutiny.
And surely any such debate can be finally put to rest given the Egyptian's joyous reaction at his team-mates scoring the goals that gradually edged Liverpool towards their remarkable third-place finish.
Salah may have missed out on a third Golden Boot to Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane, but the real prize came with Champions League football being assured once again.
He kept his promise. And Liverpool have earned it - and then some.
