BUT, SERIOUSLY, IS IT GOING TO BE THEIR YEAR?

The width of your little finger. The diameter of a keyboard button. Half a cashew nut. That was the difference between winning the title for the first time in 29 years and finishing an agonising second.

Had Sadio Mané’s shot-turned-goalmouth-scramble travelled 1.12cm further to cross the Manchester City goal-line and turn January’s 2-1 defeat into a draw, the Premier League title and an unbeaten season was Liverpool’s. No one ever said life at the top is easy.

It’s staggering that, with four months of the season to go, events on January 3 effectively decided the title. Ditto that the Reds dropped their final points in a goalless derby draw with Everton on March 3, before winning their last nine games. City had to win 14 on the spin to retain the title, testament to the sustained pressure Liverpool exerted. Bottlers? No chance.

While City may prioritise the Champions League in 2019-20, Liverpool’s main focus will be domestic. Yes, a sixth European Cup was a considerable consolation, but the Premier League is the trophy that the players, coaches and fanbase now covet above all others.

That only minor alterations are needed highlights the impressive work of sporting director Michael Edwards. Liverpool continue to sell well: they’ve just received £18m (rising to £20m) for Danny Ings, after Dominic Solanke and Danny Ward left last season for a combined £31.5m, which helped to offset Liverpool’s world-record investments in Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, both of which paid off last season. Equally, spiriting Mo Salah away from Roma for just £36.9m in June 2017 was the greatest trick the devil has pulled since convincing the world Keyser Soze didn’t exist.

With Alberto Moreno having gone back to Spain and Dejan Lovren expected to leave as well, Liverpool need some defensive cover, and maybe another attacking midfielder-cum-forward to keep that stellar Salah-firmino-mané triumvirate honest. But that’s it.

The difference between Klopp’s Liverpool and any previous iteration is their ability to win games when playing poorly. In the Champions League final, they barely got out of second gear yet never once looked like losing. The belief that Klopp has instilled in this cavalcade of a team is a force of nature, seen most notably in the thrilling Barcelona comeback but with regularity, such as scoring twice in the last 10 minutes to beat Southampton 3-1 during a high-stakes run-in.

If City eyes drift to a big-eared prize, they will find that Liverpool are waiting, hungrier than ever.