Liverpool tore Newcastle apart on New Year's Day, with an attacking display that was not reflected in their output of goals.
The Magpies were utterly dominated by the home side at Anfield, with Liverpool managing to reach a remarkable 7.27xG - the highest ever recorded in the Premier League.
Despite becoming the first team in Premier League history to get 7+ expected goals in one game, Liverpool ultimately only scored four in a 4-2 win.
Monday's game was the final appearance for Mo Salah before his departure to the Africa Cup of Nations, and the Egyptian winger was at the heart of Liverpool's win.
His 13th and 14th Premier League goals of the season, as well as an assist for Cody Gakpo, were the core reason for them fulfilling the promise of their attacking play - even if he did miss a first-half penalty.
Of course, four goals in a decisive win over opposition who finished in the top four last season is impressive, and a reflection on the impressive form of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Speaking after the game, however, Gary Neville pointed out that it could also point to a trait of this Liverpool team that could become more of a problem in Salah's impending absence.
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Gary Neville thinks Salah absence at AFCON could harm Liverpool in one particular area
Gary Neville sang Liverpool's praises on his post-match podcast for Sky Sports from Anfield on Monday night.
The ex-Manchester United right-back said that Liverpool were putting their hands up as contenders for the Premier League title, as Arsenal falter and Manchester City slowly find their way back to form.
Nonetheless, he noted a change in Liverpool's style this season which - though exciting - has proven to be unpredictable for the fans and the players on the pitch.
Neville said that he feared that the more chaotic style of play Liverpool have favoured this season - a return to that of the early Klopp era - could come back to bite them with Salah away:
When Jurgen Klopp first came to Liverpool, I really liked watching them. They were really frantic, loads of pressing, it was fast. You sometimes didn't quite know what was happening, and I'm not sure the players on the pitch did. It lacked composure, but it was really exciting. 'Heavy metal football,' as he called it at Dortmund.
Then it became really smooth along with that electricity, and they became a wonderful team. They were going head-to-head with City for three or four years and they won a Premier League and Champions League.
A lot of those players have left, and they're now into a transition period where they've gone back to being like they were at the beginning of Klopp's period where Gakpo, Nunez, Diaz...they're not polished yet. They're not at what the peak of their careers where you start to make more precise decisions.
There's an electricity to them, but then there's a frustration in the final third, the last part can sometimes go a little bit wrong. You wonder what that's going to be like without Salah.
They have to, they owe it to him to get through the next month still in the title race, still at the top of the league, still ahead, so that they can give Mo Salah a chance to come back. Then, they can have a real go at the title.
Salah has once again been the attacking star for Liverpool this season. He has 14 Premier League goals so far and is well on course to continue his record of never having scored fewer than 19 goals in a league season since his arrival at Anfield.
Below Salah, no Liverpool player has more than five goals in the Premier League this season. Given that Salah has also created eight goals for the side through assists this season, it is reasonable to suggest that their attacking output will be diminished in his absence.
But Neville's suggestion that a shift in Liverpool's style of play will exacerbate that issue is fascinating, and fans will be intrigued to see how the coming weeks play out.
There is a chance that should Egypt reach the final of AFCON, Salah could miss up to eight club games. In the period up to the final, Liverpool will face Bournemouth, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Burnley in the Premier League, as well as another tie with Arsenal in the FA Cup (and potential fourth round), and a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham.
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