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The date is 27 December 2017.

You're in a state of comatose on the sofa after the usual overindulgence of the Christmas period, with guilt-ridden glances at those new running trainers as you tire ever further of Disney movies for yet another year.

In your state of lethargy, you innocently scroll through Twitter, hoping to see some form light relief, enough to avert your gaze from the chocolate tin still glaring at you from across the room.

And there it is.

Virgil van Dijk, stood in front of a Christmas tree, head-to-head with its peak, holding up the light blue of a Manchester City shirt. You sink into a further lull, even though you knew the transfer to Liverpool was unlikely following the previous summer debacle with Southampton, you still held out a glimmer of hope that it could be done.

You wonder what it all means for a City side already over the hill and far away at the top of the Premier League. Maybe he isn't that good and won't cut it at the level required? Maybe, just maybe, Liverpool have dodged a massive bullet? You reach for the biscuit tin and start The Jungle Book for the seventh time in three days.

In the days which follow, Liverpool sell Phillipe Coutinho for a record £142m ($182.4m) to FC Barcelona. In the New Year madness, the Reds sign Aymeric Laporte for £57m ($73.2m) from Athletic Bilbao. But it barely subsides the upset and anger among supporters.

In the weeks that followed, Liverpool perform reasonably well, with a last gasp Ragnar Klavan winner at Burnley the highlight. However, the Reds crash out of the FA Cup to neighbours Everton in the fourth round, following a 1-1 draw at Anfield which the Blues won on penalties in the replay.

Liverpool's European surge gathers momentum, with a relatively comfortable win over FC Porto in the last 16, only for them to be drawn against City in the quarter-final of the competition. During a frantic first-leg at Anfield, the Reds take a 1-0 lead into the tie at the Etihad Stadium. They felt it could have been more only for some superb organisation and leadership from Van Dijk to steady the City back-line.

(Image: Liverpool FC)

In the return leg, the Dutch centre-back is once again imperious, dealing a second-half Liverpool flurry to ensure City eventually run out 2-0 winners on the night and setup a semi-final tie with AS Roma.

City end the season on 100 points as well as being crowned Champions League winners for the first time, following a tight and cagey final in Kyiv which seen them beat an ageing Real Madrid CF side 1-0 with a solitary second-half strike. Van Dijk is already decorated as one of the best centre-backs in the game.

Liverpool scrape to a fourth place finish. Laporte has started his Reds career well, but with the indecision of Loris Karius and Dejan Lovren and others around him, he looks similarly as uncertain at times.

The Reds start the season with the likes of Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri all added to the ranks. They're linked to Roma keeper Alisson Becker but don't sign anymore defensive reinforcements. Why would they? It's not like Karius has thrown the ball to an opposing forward in the biggest game in world football or anything, is it?

In the main, the season starts as it ended. The Reds lose games to Chelsea away and throw away leads to draw frustratingly with Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur. The Champions League group is tough and remains on a knife-edge with Jürgen Klopp's team needing three points against Napoli at home. The night ends in a frustrating 1-1 draw and the Reds are out.

City are imperious on all fronts, meanwhile, and Van Dijk is being lauded as the best centre-back in Europe, as his partnership with a rejuvenated Vincent Kompany looks simply impenetrable.

City have the league basically wrapped up in February, Liverpool have improved in joint second, but defensive frailties continue to act as their Achilles heel. Any slim title aspirations die with defeat to City at the Etihad in January 2019. The champions play out a nervy tie with Tottenham but run out as 4-2 winners over the course of two-legs.

They march on to the final in Madrid and defeat FC Barcelona comfortably to claim their second consecutive European crown and become the first quadruple winners in English history.

Liverpool finally lose patience with Karius in the summer of 2019 following a series of errors. Pep Guardiola signs a new seven-year deal at the club and Van Dijk wins the PFA player of the year as well being a Ballon d'Or winner in waiting. Kompany retires and Van Dijk is made captain, himself signing a new long-term contract.

Things remain hopeful at Anfield, but the realisation that there is only one side who will dominate English and European football for the foreseeable future is a sobering one.

So think back to that festive period almost two years ago, in the purgatory between Christmas and New Year when you don't know what day it is and nothing makes sense. Think of that moment you opened up your phone or switched the TV channel and witnessed Virgil van Dijk holding up Liverpool red and not City blue, because it truly was the moment which changed the course of events which would follow so dramatically.