The legendary figures were serenaded, Mohamed Salah scored and Anfield felt as though it'd been transported back to a happier, more harmonious period at times here.
But make no mistake, this 2-0 win over Fulham provided enough evidence to suggest that Liverpool are entering a brand new era later this year.
If Salah registering his 256th goal in trademark style was a perfect way to mark his first Anfield appearance since announcing he will leave at the end of the season, there was also the hearty celebration of Andy Robertson, who too confirmed this week that these are his own final knockings.
And with Alisson Becker and his creaking muscles resting up on the sideline, Giorgi Mamardashvili's appearance in goal was another nod to the future. The need for a new guard to emerge is inescapable as two of the greatest ever in Salah and Robertson prepare to say their emotional goodbyes.
Step forward then Rio Ngumoha, whose stunning opening goal here whet the appetite of a fanbase who will soon be forced to find some new heroes. He may very well be one on this showing.
Ngumoha, who was starting just his second Premier League game, was electric in the first half, dovetailing with Florian Wirtz and Robertson, who is 15 years his senior. After Anthony Taylor waved away his penalty shout, the 17-year-old dusted himself down to whip one past Bernd Leno later in the half. It was a sumptuous piece of play from a teenager with a brilliant future.
Salah, who was back in the side after being left unused at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, wrapped home a second goal before the break. It felt fitting.
Barring a famous comeback against European champions PSG on Tuesday night in the second leg of that quarter-final tie, Salah has just four more games at the venue he has lit up these past nine years, so moments like his latest goal here will rightly be cherished. The standing ovation that greeted his departure was deserved too.
There are 16 years and 75 days between 33-year-old Salah and his younger team-mate Ngumoha, who doesn't turn 18 until late August, which is the widest age-gap between two Liverpool scorers in the club's entire history.
The calls to start Ngumoha more regularly have been aired frequently in recent weeks and they well now become deafening to Arne Slot, who has tried to carefully managed the minutes of the precocious teenager during a troubling period for the team.
Slot has been determined not to place too many demands on the shoulders of a player who isn't even around the England Under-21 fringes yet, but performances like this will make selecting him almost irresistible. He tormented the Cottagers here, but can he now be a genuine option against PSG on Tuesday night?
The first sighting of Alexander Isak on the Anfield pitch in four months was also a welcome one for a club who are looking to move past the age of Salah. The £125m striker is clearly still rusty after just a handful of team training sessions since breaking his leg at Tottenham Hotspur before Christmas but this was another important checkpoint for him.
But for all the garlands that landed at the feet of Salah and Robertson from the Liverpool fans here, it would be wrong to paint this some sort of legends' love-in. There was also an edge the match-going crowd, who raged against the club's decision to raise ticket prices for the next three years last month.
The Reds' decision-makers were angrily accused of being "greedy b*******" and were told to "shove your prices up your a****" by a Kop who had just one banner draped across it all afternoon: "No to ticket price increases".
It will be fascinating to see if the message resonated across the Atlantic in the boardrooms of owners Fenway Sports Group. The protests organised by supporters' union Spirit of Shankly have only added to the current sense of disconnect following a poor season and the wider mood is so far removed from this time last year as Liverpool closed in on the title.
It perhaps speaks to the paucity of their rivals, at least, that a first win since February actually allowed Slot's men to go four points clear in the fifth and final Champions League spot. And this might even prove to be a huge day in the entire campaign now given sixth-place Chelsea host a title-hunting Manchester City on Sunday.
Easing clear of Chelsea and securing participation in next season's European Cup is now the No.1 priority. It won't make this term a success by any metric but it will at least provide the club with the funds needed to rebuild the squad in time for that aforementioned new era.
Because whether they like it or not, this afternoon confirmed it is hurtling towards them.
The newest edition of Blood Red – your new monthly publication covering everything you need to know about what’s happening at Liverpool FC. is on sale now. Order your copy here.
