Suddenly Brendan Rodgers has to think very carefully again and, suddenly, those who doubt him are having to reconsider their opposition.
The turnaround since Rodgers made his switch to a 3-4-2-1 has been remarkable. While he clearly deserves credit for that, he has a further question to answer with Daniel Sturridge returning to fitness and Mario Balotelli scoring the winner against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
Rodgers is an easy man to mock: his frequent use of management-speak, his habit of calling reporters by name, and his general demeanour cause many to regard him as a snake-oil salesman.
Where Bill Shankly made a virtue of keeping everything simple, Rodgers seems at times wilfully to overcomplicate, to speak in a lexicon that portrays himself as a guru.
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Yet many of those who know say that, behind the scenes, he is straightforward – though not Andy Carroll, admittedly, who complained recently of what he saw of Rodgers’s duplicity.
What is true is that, in December, Rodgers found his team missing Luis Suarez, who had been sold, and Daniel Sturridge, who was injured.
The rapid transfer of ball from back to front to exploit the pace of those two and Raheem Sterling was not happening or, if it was, there was nobody there to exploit it.
So Rodgers devised a new shape, playing not only with a back three, but also a false nine and two attacking midfielders in unusual support roles.
The immediate result was a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, although there were many positives in that game.
Since then, Liverpool have been excellent, going unbeaten in nine league games. They may have climbed from only 10th to seventh, but they are five points behind Manchester United in third place.
They outplayed Chelsea in drawing 1-1 at home in the League Cup semi-final and were a little unfortunate to lose the second leg.
They also had plenty of nervous moments in the FA Cup fourth round against Bolton Wanderers, but they made it through to face Crystal Place in the fifth round.
The pursuit of Uefa Champions League qualification may be the focus, but the FA Cup offers the best chance of a trophy for Liverpool this season.
Yet just as Rodgers has dragged his side into a position in which a top-four finish is possible – he deserves the bulk of the credit, for the change of shape and for allowing Sterling to go to Jamaica on holiday, which has served to reinvigorate him at a key stage – the Northern Irishman faces a complication.
All season Liverpool fans have ben desperately awaiting the return of Daniel Sturridge, yet, just as he is fit, accommodating him in the side means juggling the formation.
If he plays at centre-forward, it means Sterling must drop back to operate alongside Philippe Coutinho in the two-man attacking midfield line, which raises questions about Steven Gerrard’s position.
Sturridge has returned remarkably well after all his injury problems. He scored 12 minutes into his return against West Ham United and then made two substitute appearances before his start against Tottenham on Tuesday when Sterling was kept out with an ankle injury.
Surprisingly, Lazar Markovic was used as a creator in that game ahead of Adam Lallana, with Gerrard deep in midfield and Jordan Ibe at wing-back.
That suggests the vast array of options Rodgers has – which last season was a great advantage as he juggled his front three and changed shape according to the opposition – was at the start of this season, with several new signings and seemingly little idea how best to use them, a disadvantage.
But he has found a way. Balotelli’s winner against Tottenham was important in the race for fourth and may help restore the striker’s confidence, but, at present, it is essentially a footnote.
The bigger issue is how Sturridge, who scored 21 league goals last season, can be reintroduced to the side without disrupting the balance of the 3-4-2-1.
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