Only last week, Goal revealed Liverpool had pulled out of a proposed £62 million deal for Roma goalkeeper Alisson, with manager Jurgen Klopp having decided that Loris Karius would be his No.1 for the remainder of the season - and beyond.
There were those that questioned the German's judgement again in midweek when Alisson produced yet another sensational display of shot stopping in the Giallorossi's 2-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. So impressive was he that a frustrated Paulo Fonseca claimed afterwards that his side would have won the last-16 first-leg clash by a far bigger margin had it not been for the brilliant Brazilian.
However, Karius produced the perfect riposte at Anfield on Saturday, playing a pivotal role in a 4-1 victory over West Ham that propelled Liverpool into second place in the Premier League standings ahead of Manchester United's meeting with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Of course, the Reds' awesome attacking triumvirate will dominate the headlines once more, and rightly so. They were all on target again.
Pleasingly, Sadio Mane underlined that he has got his mojo back just in time for the business end of the season, Mohamed Salah's left foot wrote itself into the history books with a 20th goal of the season, while Roberto Firmino turned in another demonstration of how to play as a modern No.9.
20 - Mo Salah has scored 20 goals with his left foot in the Premier League this season, the most by a player in a single season in the competition's history. Phenomenon. pic.twitter.com/M6ybeBTWFF
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 24, 2018
However, for all Liverpool's customary offensive excellence, they remain vulnerable in defence and that is where Karius came in.
He produced two spectacular but, more importantly, pivotal saves when the game was still delicately poised during the first half.
Indeed, his first stop was as impressive as it was crucial, with Karius getting his fingertips to a wonderfully delicate chip from Marko Arnautovic that looked destined to open the scoring at Merseyside.
The former Mainz goalkeeper denied the Austrian attacker after Liverpool had taken the lead through Emre Can's header, this time keeping a 25-yard effort out of the top corner.
Karius was eventually beaten in the second half by Michail Antonio, who bagged his now seemingly obligatory goal against the Reds – it is now four in five appearances against the Reds for the winger.
However, there was little that the 24-year-old could have done about that, having been left brutally exposed by his defence.
Those backline problems still have to be addressed, of course, but if Karius can continue to influence games in such a positive manner between now and the end of the season, Liverpool fans’ interest in Alisson’s performances will quickly fade.
After Klopp had made the decision to replace Simon Mignolet with Karius as his first-choice goalkeeper, he warned his compatriot: "Of course, Loris now has to deliver."
He did just that on Saturday.