He had only made a brief cameo from the substitutes' bench, but was soon greeted like a king by the traveling Kop. Darwin Núñez had just scored a last-gasp winner to put Liverpool firmly in the driving seat towards their 20th English league title.
The scene we are discussing is not his magician's antics at Brentford on Saturday, but his 99th-minute winning goal at Nottingham Forest last March. It propelled the Reds four points clear at the top of the Premier League and felt like a season-defining blow.
Having not been called up in the previous league match on both occasions and having come into the match under scrutiny, little has changed. The only difference was the grace with which rival boss Thomas Frank greeted the goal, unlike the furious episode of the forest bosses.
But the thing is, Liverpool and Núñez have been here before. They parted ways on the banks of the River Trent that day, but ultimately failed in their quest for supremacy, dropping points in six of their last 11 league games.
Now is the time for the Reds to seize their opportunity and move on. A draw at Brentford wouldn't have been a disaster, especially given Arsenal equalised, but it would have twisted the narrative and their six-point lead could easily have been just two if the day had gone differently.
Everyone expected Arne Slot's team to be in a transition period under the new regime this season. Finishing in the top four seemed like a realistic goal in August, but now the goals have changed and anything short of finishing as champions will be seen as a huge disappointment.
Darwin Nunez's late brace against Brentford showed that Liverpool's bench boys can help them win the title.
Arne Slot's men must learn from last season and use this victory as a springboard to fight for the title.
Harvey Elliott (background) and Federico Chiesa (left) also played an important role after their entrance.
This time there are factors in his favor. Arsenal are not the beast they were the last two seasons and are struggling for that winning consistency while, more importantly, four-time reigning champions Manchester City are a shadow of their former self and will not succeed.
That's why two draws in a row (almost three) were not as catastrophic as some Reds fans thought. Lose a few games in a row with Pep Guardiola's all-conquering City hot on your heels and you'd have been left for dead, but neither team is as clinical this year.
This victory was engineered by Slot's backup brigade. Núñez grabbed the headlines, but was complemented by fellow substitutes Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa, who both played important roles. While Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz were plagued by waste, others stepped up.
For Núñez and Elliott in particular, those cameos will do them a lot of good. When asked by journalists what the Uruguayan striker should do now, captain Virgil van Dijk joked: “Not listening to them all!” I'm kidding.
But I told him: “Stay calm because you will play again.” What he did today is what we need him to do: have an impact and score big and important goals. “He will always have the opportunity to show himself again and be important for the team.”
Núñez's future heading into this match was firmly in doubt. He had scored just one goal in Liverpool's last 15 league games and there has been talk of whether he would one day live up to his £85m price tag. These objectives silence that debate at least for a few weeks.
“As teammates and as friends, we are delighted for him, he deserves it,” said Elliott, who has something to prove. He has yet to play more than 16 minutes in a league game this season and his assist for Núñez's second was his first goal.
The 21-year-old spoke in pre-season about how now was the time to step up and show he can start for the Reds, but breaking his foot in September put an end to that. Clubs have kept an eye on him for a possible summer raid, but he added: “Liverpool are my club.”
Their late victory over Nottingham Forest in March, also thanks to Darwin Núñez, did not prove to be a springboard as expected.
Virgil van Dijk's advice to Núñez is to stay calm because Liverpool will need him in big moments
Núñez, Elliott and Chiesa had to settle for supporting roles, but were provided in the dressing room after the win at Brentford.
“Liverpool is my team. I want to fight for my place, fight for my place in the team. I'm going to do whatever it takes. It's up to me to put in the effort, the hard work, the desire, to achieve that achievement. I won't I'm going to give up, I'm going to keep fighting.'
Both Núñez and Elliott showed what they offer for the title, and both are fighting for their lives in Liverpool. Chiesa, on the other hand, showed that he can be trusted to change games and his direct run caused problems for Brentford.
They were greeted like heroes in the visiting locker room as the team turned up the music to toast a decisive victory. Take each game as it comes and all that, but if you can't celebrate wins like this, then something is wrong.
Van Dijk is in charge of queuing up bangers on Spotify for celebratory moments like these and leads the team as main DJ. The content of the pattern's playlist is a closely guarded secret. What we can guess is that We are the champions Queen's could soon be added.