Anfield had been starved of anthems this season, but on Saturday the Kop rediscovered its roar and with it a Liverpool side that looked more like the champions they were last term.
Arne Slot, under mounting pressure after a winless run that stung the club, finally breathed easier as Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch delivered a 2-0 verdict over Aston Villa that felt vindicating as much as necessary.
Fans reclaimed the narrative
Long before the final whistle, the terraces were chanting "Champions, champions", not in complacent bravado but as a show of solidarity when the team needed it most. Slot, visibly moved, praised the supporters for standing by the club during a difficult patch.
Their voice at 0-0, he said, was the kind of lifeline only a place like Anfield can offer: a reminder of past glories and a push for better days ahead
Salah the headline, but a team reborn
Salah’s first-half finish, gifted by a goalkeeper’s mistake, might have been simple, but its significance was anything but.
The 33-year-old reached the staggering milestone of 250 goals for Liverpool, joining the club’s mythic scorers. Slot lauded Salah’s all-round display; from defensive work-rate to his constant, menacing runs from the right and underlined how crucial his form is if Liverpool are to mount a sustained challenge.
Defence steadies, belief rebuilds
A clean sheet lifted Liverpool’s mood as much as the goals. Virgil van Dijk, impervious at the back, urged the squad to block out the "ridiculous" noise that had swelled around the club during their slump.
The backline’s resilience reminded pundits and fans that this team still possesses the defensive spine and character required to respond when results go against them.
Big tests loom but momentum returns
The win could not have come at a more pivotal moment: Real Madrid visit Anfield in the Champions League on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Manchester City.
Those fixtures will measure whether the victory was a temporary balm or the reset Liverpool desperately needed. For now, though, the sense around the ground is that belief has been rekindled.
The mood at Anfield
Voices once anxious now hummed a familiar optimism, even a chorus of Bob Marley’s "Three Little Birds" rang out late on, as if to exhale the season’s tension.
Slot’s players left the pitch with a lift in their step and supporters with reasons to hope again. In the unforgiving calendar ahead, Liverpool need more performances like this; Saturday proved they still can deliver them.
