There was a long, animated discussion on the pitch with Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders during the half-time interval.
Then came a swift change of shirts, as the training top was removed and the Red number 6 jersey was pulled over his head.
And, of course, there were the words of encouragement from Jurgen Klopp before being given two trademark bear hugs.
Having been left on tenterhooks all summer, the moment Liverpool supporters had been anticipating had finally arrived.
It was Thiago time. And the Spaniard instantly demonstrated why the initial £20million the Premier League champions have paid for his services has been lauded as a steal.
Anyone who witnessed Bayern Munich bludgeon their way to Champions League success last season, or watched him action for Spain, will have known what to expect.
Thiago isn’t one to stand on ceremony. With such a solid first touch and range of vision, the ball isn’t at his feet for long, fed to a team-mate with metronomic accuracy. No sooner does he have it, then it’s gone.
There is an effortless ease to his play and, like all good players, when he wants time in possession, he appears able to instinctively find it.
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And talk about accurate. Thiago completed more passes – 75 – than any other Chelsea player managed during the entire match. And since such Premier League statistics started to be compiled in 2003, it’s the most made by any player who has been on the pitch a maximum of 45 minutes.
Of course, it helped that he was introduced, in place of the stricken Jordan Henderson, against a Chelsea team reduced to 10 men moments before the break by the red card eventually shown to Andreas Christensen.
Thiago’s arrival also opens up greater tactical options for Klopp, another alternative in defensive midfield. Here it allowed Fabinho to excel as a stand-in centre-back.
A lack of match sharpness perhaps contributed to his foul on Timo Werner for the penalty saved by Alisson Becker, although the pair would have tussled regularly in the Bundesliga.
But, otherwise, the Spaniard did exactly what everyone had wanted and was expecting.
No wonder Bayern were gutted to wave goodbye to Thiago.
Their loss, even on this early evidence, is very much Liverpool’s gain.
