Jurgen Klopp said that he had seen the Liverpool he knew before coming to Anfield on a memorable night for his club, as they deservedly won 2-0 against Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday.
The German manager, who described the result as the first step in re-paying long-suffering fans for their loyalty, was full of praise for his side after they dominated the game and expressed regret that that they did not score more goals.
Daniel Sturridge's penalty and Roberto Firmino's close-range finish secured the 2-0 win for the home team at Anfield, with the score being kept down by several impressive saves from United goalkeeper David De Gea.
Klopp told BT Sport: "We were really good from the first second, everything was there, but we could have scored more. That sounds crazy, I know, but we had the chances.
"Two-zero, if you said this before the game, of course I'd take it. But it's not over. We have to go to Manchester.
"It was a great atmosphere, I am so pleased for all of the people who have had harder times with us this season. Tonight was the first part of paying them back.
"We gave them [United] no time in any situation. I'm really pleased for Joe Allen -- he has not been playing and I don't like this, but he showed how strong he is.
"I want to say thank you to everyone that was involved. That was Liverpool how I knew it before I came here."
Klopp's men have secured three successive wins this month after reacting brilliantly since losing the Capital One Cup final on penalties against Manchester City.
After that disappointment, Liverpool promptly thrashed Manchester City 3-0 in the Premier League, then secured a late 2-1 win at Crystal Palace and followed it up with this 2-0 win over United.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said that they are "confident" of finishing the job against United now and progressing into the quarterfinals of this competition, but will treat the second leg as a fresh match.
He said: "We've got a two-goal advantage but that can be dangerous at times. We need to be fully focused and go into the game as if it's zero-zero."