Sadio Mane has joked that Liverpool's training camp in Dubai was better than staying at home because of the weather.
With Jurgen Klopp's side out of the FA Cup the Premier League leaders made the most of an 11-day fixture-break by jetting off to the United Arab Emirates.
They return to action against Leicester at Anfield on Wednesday night, and Mane admits the training camp helped bring the squad closer together.
'It was really cool. It was not the best weather ever, but compared to Liverpool it was much, much better!', he told the club website.
'Of course we would love to play in the FA Cup but if not, it's part of football and you have to accept it. The four-day trip was very important for the team.
'Take the example of last year – we had new players like Mo [Salah] and Virgil [van Dijk]. Especially Virgil, he [grew] so close to everybody, it was very important for us and for him as well to be involved more in the team.
'After Dubai, it looked like he had already been with us here for three or four years.
'This year we had more new players than last year. It's very important. Here, you don't have time to go out together. This kind of [trip] helps us to talk about different things, not only football.
'It was very nice. This kind of period always makes everybody closer, making more of an affinity. It's important for the team.'
Liverpool lead champions Manchester City by four points with 15 games remaining in the season.
City have the chance to reduce the gap to one point with victory at Newcastle on Tuesday night.