Liverpool have kept their word about being opportunistic: they just didnt expect the best opportunity to be taken by Mo Salah!
Kopites were literally living their own Theatre of Dreams during the thrashing of Manchester United until the Egyptian King startled them with a chilling dose of reality.
By suggesting it was his final game at Old Trafford as the whistle blew, he seemed to be saying farewell. Or was he?
If anything could put a dampener on the 3-0 win over their most bitter rivals, this was it.
Especially as the wing wonder with one goal and two assists looked back to his regal best.
Not that anyone was blaming the player: he had simply seized his moment with the same ruthlessness he had shown during the game.
His timing was guaranteed to make maximum impact.
No one has spoken to me, he claimed. Which did seem to leave the door open to talks about a new contract.
Some optimists even interpreted it as a Come and Get Me plea.
But it was still enough to send shivers throughout the worldwide fan base.
The prospect of losing their hero in the moment of victory over bitter rivals was hard to take but not unthinkable.
Kopites had been thinking about it ever since Salah entered the final year of his contract.
Nor was the sense of dread confined to him: Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are in the same boat.
So in January, all three will be able to talk to other clubs and leave at the end of the season for free.
Now, that IS unthinkable.
It would be hard to put a figure on how much the trio is worth at this stage even in normal circumstances, given the ages of Salah (32) and Van Dijk (33).
That the club turned down an offer of 150m for Salah the previous summer shows they thought he had plenty left in his locker.
Its unlikely that Saudi Pro-League side Al-Ittihad will offer as much again.
The harsh truth is that they might not have to offer anything.
All three going would rip the guts out of the team and the heart out of the club.
All were pillars of Jurgen Klopps greatest Liverpool side and are three of the best in Arne Slots new one.
Salah is the irreplaceable global superstar; Van Dijk the skipper and defensive colossus, and Trent, who is 26, the precocious local boy who can play in two positions.
Its only natural that alarmed fans are demanding answers as to why it has come to this.
Clubs and not just elite corporations like Liverpool move mountains to avoid such worst-case scenarios.
But Liverpool inexcusably allowed the situation to drift.
For a while last season, as Klopps boys including some real kids mounted a challenge for all four trophies, keeping Salah looked the right decision.
But a hamstring injury during the African Nations Cup blighted the second half of his season when he was not the same old Mo.
His was just part of an epidemic that crocked half the team and saw a brave challenge run out of steam.
With the benefit of hindsight, was saying no to 150m wise given this is a club that only spends what it makes?
The club knows he keeps himself in tiptop condition and hopes to play at this level for several more years.
A Ballon dOr still tempts him and Liverpool back in the Champions League offers his only realistic route to that.
Cristiano Ronaldo has shown the way and is only fading now as his 40th birthday beckons.
Salah, despite better stats than many of the nominees, didnt even make the top 30 short-list for last season.
But he looks sharp and raring to go this time around.
Liverpool have now said they will start talks with him as fans sincerely hope they will with the others.
In the case of the two 30-somethings, the difficulties could be more to do with the length of the contracts than the size, although Salah, especially, is sure to drive a hard bargain.
Everyone of a Liverpool persuasion will be desperate for early news that these deals can be done.
It would be unconscionable if fears of impending disaster were allowed to derail a flying start to the new season.
It may only be pre-season, as many are saying, but Slots seamless beginning has raised hopes that he can fill Klopps shoes.
He is quieter his football is quieter but so was Bob Paisley after the immortal Bill Shankly, and look what he achieved.
Silverware can make up for a softer voice.
So what happened to allow this situation to come about?
In short, Liverpool took their eye off the ball.
The smooth-running FSG machine sputtered, going from backing the Super League to selling the club, only to change their minds on both.
In November 2022, FSG President Mike Gordon, who managed operations, took a back seat and transfer guru Michael Edwards left.
Edwards replacement Julian Ward only lasted till the end of the season.
Klopp had to get an old friend, Jorg Schmadtke, to temp as football director from his laptop in Majorca.
The clock ticked, the contracts ran on and then Klopp himself quit.
Since then, Gordon, Edwards and Ward have all returned along with a new football director, Richard Hughes.
So, it is only now they are getting around to dealing with the trio.
There has also been disquiet about a lack of signings although the club were unfortunate in that their No 1 choice, Martin Zubimendi, couldnt be prised from his hometown club, Real Sociedad.
A late 10m swoop for Federico Chiesa has helped quell that.
But what Edwards needs to do now is end the speculation about a triple exodus and sign them up.
After all, how much would it cost to replace the irreplaceable?
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.