It is tempting to view nine months of Liverpool toil being defined by 90 minutes against Hoffenheim at Anfield tonight.

Delve deeper and you could argue everything Jurgen Klopp has built since his move to Liverpool in October 2015 has led to this crossroads directed towards the Graceland of Champions League or wasteland of the Europa League.

Club owner Fenway Sports Group will have similar thoughts, its seven-year reign so far yielding a solitary, humbling Champions League experience under Brendan Rodgers in 2014. There have been few games of such consequence hosted by Anfield since.

Little wonder Klopp’s focus ahead of the second leg with Hoffenheim straddled the divide between recognising the importance of protecting a 2-1 first-leg lead and awakening the “legend of Anfield”, while ensuring such pressure is inspiring rather than paralysing.