Liverpool supporters at Brighton (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
If Arne Slot has mastered one thing in his wildly successful first year in English football, it's how he has ensured that almost every Liverpool defeat suffered has been rendered virtually meaningless.
A cursory glance at his nine reverses in all competitions at Anfield and there are only a handful you could make a case for being genuinely significant. The Carabao Cup final with Newcastle and the Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain in the same week? Most definitely. The Premier League reverse to Nottingham Forest in September? Sure. After that, it’s very much open to debate.
The FA Cup loss at Plymouth? Collateral damage. Fulham away? A gentle bump on the road the glory. You can also file this 3-2 loss at Brighton alongside Chelsea, the Champions League dead rubber at PSV and the first-leg semi-final hiccup at Tottenham as results that haven't really carried much weight in the grander scheme of things for Slot and his players.
This latest setback certainly meant little to those in the away ends here at the Amex who, by the end of the game, had given up the pretence of being even vaguely concerned about the outcome, declaring instead that this week is really about what is to come on Sunday.
This had an inescapable end-of-season feel to it and it can be instantly consigned to the dustbin as supporters now gaze ahead to Crystal Palace this week, when, as the terrace anthem informed us late on, Liverpool will be "running round Anfield with the league". What a prospect that promises to be.
The Reds had the lead inside 10 minutes when Conor Bradley skipped by two challenges before playing in Harvey Elliott, who tapped home from around six yards out on just his second league start this term.
Just days after signing a new contract, it was a perfect snapshot of why Bradley has been rewarded with those fresh terms and why there is so much excitement about the athletic Northern Ireland international, regardless of the impending arrival of £30m Jeremie Frimpong.
Brighton had their leveller when Yasin Ayari got in behind and Bradley was unable to make up the ground before the Seagulls man tucked it past Alisson Becker. However, the Reds regained their lead on the cusp of half time with a rocket courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai, who revelled in the deeper midfield role handed to him by Slot.
The head coach spoke before the game of the No.8 position being the Hungary captain's favoured and after an enterprising first half full of energy and effort, he showed the requisite quality to match it with a beautiful strike that arched into the top corner from a relatively tight angle.
Alisson made a stunning save from Danny Welbeck's free-kick shortly after the restart before denying the former Arsenal and Manchester United striker once more from close range.
Bradley started to tire as the game wore on and the introduction of the superb Kaoru Mitoma was the turning point as the Japan winger began to pull the strings before grabbing the equaliser after Alisson had once more repelled Welbeck. Jack Hinshelwood struck the winner late on after Matt O'Riley was just about judged to be onside for the cross to his team-mate. In truth, it was of little consequence to the visitors.
This game marked 12 months to the day since Jurgen Klopp signed off from Liverpool in his own inimitable style, singing the name of his as-of-yet unconfirmed successor to the tune of the terrace anthem that had previously been reserved for him.
As far as unwavering shows of public support went, it was Liverpool's version of Sir Alex Ferguson imploring the Manchester United to get behind David Moyes as the iconic Scot prepared to walk away after nearly three decades at Old Trafford.
Klopp, though, put a sprinkling of his own unique panache on proceedings and while the chant was greeted with a vociferous response by the Reds fans at Anfield for the final game of last season against Wolves, many would have been forgiven for privately feeling a sense of trepidation about the future.
After all, Klopp was more than a manager, he was a spiritual guide and a moral compass; someone who lit up the room and commanded the spotlight, and he was all of these things while collecting every top-level trophy on offer at Anfield. Succeeding him was a daunting prospect, whoever the anointed one was.
The era of Slot, however, could barely have started in more spectacular fashion. May 20 marks the one-year anniversary since the Dutchman was officially confirmed as picking up the baton, and having wrapped up the Premier League title with a month of the campaign to spare, the last few weeks have been a club content to tread water as they await the biggest party of a generation this weekend. The victory lap has been ongoing for some time.
Slot has slipped into the role with more ease than an old pair of slippers and the adaptation to the biggest job of his career after arriving from Feyenoord has been remarkable. The head coach's lamenting in the build up to this game of how the Reds were eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in March served as something of a major signpost towards his next ambition on Merseyside in the shape of a seventh European Cup too.
To do that while also continuing to mount a serious defence of the domestic title, Slot will need to fine-tune his squad to his specific requirements and the expected addition of Frimpong will be the next building block to fix into the place of the Real Madrid-bound Trent Alexander-Arnold, while exciting links to Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen continue.
The Reds have made it known to the Germany international and his parents that they would be a viable option if he fancies moving from his homeland and the news that Manchester City have withdrawn from the race should be viewed as a major boost inside the corridors of power at the AXA Training Centre.
It's full steam ahead for the champions of England. Next up, the small matter of lifting the Premier League trophy after a Community Shield dress rehearsal with FA Cup winners Crystal Palace. An I-Was-There afternoon if there ever was one for the 60,000 shuffling into Anfield.