It was like Virgil van Dijk had never been away.
Ten months since he last stepped onto Anfield's turf, the Dutchman was back, looking every inch the player he was before his season was cruelly ended down the road at Goodison Park last October.
Van Dijk may have made his long-awaited comeback against Hertha Berlin last week but this here, this was his real return.
At Anfield, in front of the largest crowd since March 2020, cheering on his every touch.
One textbook, trademark pass early on, from back to front, left to right, found Mohamed Salah's in-step before another sent Sadio Mane scampering away down the opposite flank.
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If Van Dijk is still feeling any lingering effects of that now infamous Jordan Pickford challenge, he did not seem to be letting it show as he made his first appearance at Anfield since October 1, 2020 in a League Cup defeat to Arsenal.
That cold, dark and dreary evening of football inside an empty stadium seems a world away from what was served up here in front of around 40,000 on Sunday afternoon.
Van Dijk is back. And so are the fans who adore him.
It was notable that the No.4's name was reserved for the loudest cheers as George Sephton read out the two teams, pre-match, following a 30-minute delay that was owed to the less-than-perfect implementation of the club's new ticketing system.
But when the action finally got underway, it was an atmosphere normally heard and felt around the spring time for a Champions League knockout tie.
Friendly? In name only.
Van Dijk found himself up against the muscular Athletic Bilbao frontman, Inaki Williams, and stood up to the task alongside a strong-looking back five that also included Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Alisson Becker and Andy Robertson, who was sadly forced off on the cusp of half time with an ankle injury.
Unsurprisingly, Van Dijk's name thundered around the Kop when he got the call after 71 minutes of this entertaining friendly.
It was his most sizable step forward yet on the lengthy road to recovery, but it's perhaps still too early to suggest that Van Dijk will be front and centre at Carrow Road in six days.
Having lived up to the assertion from those inside the club that he is a quick healer, however, you wouldn't totally rule him out for that opener at Norwich next week.
Van Dijk's failure to convert one of two glorious deliveries from Alexander-Arnold corners will rankle, particularly after making good contact both times before missing the target.
And the concession of a goal, early in the second half, will no doubt frustrate, but there was little he could do to stop Alex Berrenguer tapping in at the back post after three of his team-mates had been drawn to Williams.
That, though, would be splitting hairs after such a long time sidelined, unable to help Liverpool through a barren winter that saw their Premier League title aspirations evaporate.
Make room, the best defender in the world is back.
