Set the tone early: it’s critical on days of this nature at Anfield, when the crowd are jumping and the slightest spark will see them catch fire.
So, in the third minute, Liverpool were awarded a free-kick just inside Manchester City’s half and Andrew Robertson scurried to shove Bernardo Silva in the back and get him out of the way.
Scotland’s captain was ready to go to war and was plainly in no mood to be messed about.
Just as significant was the incident 30 seconds earlier on the side of the pitch nearest to the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand. Phil Foden had been looking to get City on the attack but, strongly and fairly, Joe Gomez stepped in and won possession.
It was greeted with spontaneous applause and a roar of approval, and it was critical for this young man. Gomez certainly has the talent to be involved in this kind of occasion but his career has been punctured by the kind of misfortune that would demoralise lesser souls.
Much has been written and spoken about the catastrophic knee injury Virgil van Dijk suffered in October 2020 — more on him in due course — but it tends to be overlooked just how bad a problem Gomez sustained at St George’s Park the following month, while on England duty.
The road back from there has been littered with headaches but, with Ibrahima Konate ruled out of this contest with a slight muscle strain, he was restored to the centre of Liverpool’s defence and handed what is currently the hardest task in football — stifling Erling Haaland.
He was up to it. You should never underestimate how important it is for a defender to win his first big duel and, after dispossessing Foden, Gomez went on to produce what could comfortably be described as one of his best displays in a red shirt.
When Haaland tried to wrestle with him, Gomez clenched his teeth and stood firm, nipping ahead of him and poking a foot out to win possession. He used the ball well, was decisive in every battle and worked in tandem with the similarly faultless James Milner.
In a period when there is so much debate about the form of English central defenders and concerns over their fitness, here was Gomez reminding us why, potentially, he is the best of the bunch with 90 minutes that shouldn’t just get him on the plane to Qatar but have him starting against Iran.
Gareth Southgate, certainly, will have received a glowing report from his assistant Steve Holland, who was in the crowd for this pulsating encounter. England’s manager has long been a fan of Gomez, dating back to his time in charge of the Under 21s, and he is right to be encouraged.
‘It’s just great for Joey that he can show what a player he is,’ said a breathless Jurgen Klopp. ‘He is an outstanding, outstanding talent — a great player and he can play different positions.
‘He was sensational, a mature performance together with Virgil and the two full backs.
‘I’d like to mention — and it’s fine, Joey deserves all the praise — but I am pretty sure before the game a lot of people thought, “Oh, James Milner against Phil Foden”. The way James Milner played was absolutely unbelievable. Joey as well. He was on the right side and did pretty well.
‘Robbo was there with a top-class game and Virgil as well. Then in the moments when we needed Ali (Alisson), he was there as well.
‘Our defensive line, it was for sure the best game they played this season. It was good, the timing was nearly perfect. That’s the way we have to defend.’
And this was the way they used to defend. Klopp was right to highlight the pre-match concerns many would have harboured about Milner, but the 36-year-old dispelled them, playing with the zest and tenacity of someone a decade younger.
Then, too, there was Van Dijk. He has been wounded by the scrutiny he has received this season.
There have, of course, been points when criticism has been justified but an important point to make is the level from which his displays have dropped.
Van Dijk wasn’t just the best defender in the world, he was seven votes away from winning the Ballon d’Or in 2019. He made the extraordinary appear normal, intimidating strikers just by standing by them at times, and here was a reminder of his capabilities.
Like Gomez, his timing and handling of Haaland were faultess and there were a couple of superb interventions to stop the ball reaching Kevin De Bruyne.
The point that really let you know this was Van Dijk moving through the gears arrived in the 80th minute.
A Manchester City attack down the left ended with Joao Cancelo firing in a volleyed cross that was spearing towards Haaland in the middle. Van Dijk, however, watched it all the way and, from underneath his bar, he headed the ball to safety.
Calm as you like, they sing about him on the Kop, and there is a reason. Form ebbs and flows but class is permanent. Van Dijk and Gomez have it in spades.