As the plaudits for Mohamed Salah spilled out from the top table of the Anfield press room before the international break, the only thing unusual was that the manager waxing lyrical was not in fact Jurgen Klopp.
Instead, fresh from seeing his side beaten 3-0 on November 12, it was Brentford boss Thomas Frank who felt compelled to talk up just how good he thought Liverpool's No.11 was, both on the day and in more general terms. The Bees manager was effusive in his praise of Salah, describing him as one of the top three players in world football.
"Mo Salah gets praised a lot but I don't know if he gets enough praise," Frank said. "I think now off the top of my head, he is the best player in the Premier League, potentially. In terms of goals and assists, what a level. He must be one of the top offensive players in the world. Not like top 10 but top three."
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It was a refreshingly honest post-match appraisal and the sort that a lot of managers usually shy away from when discussing the merits of those who don't play for their own team. Frank by name, frank by nature it seems.
As Klopp prepared to muse on the same topic - one he has surely given hundreds of soundbites on in some form or other over the past six years - it was all the Liverpool boss could do to suppress laughter as the question gathered momentum.
Klopp's reaction said it all; just what could the Liverpool manager say that he hasn't already about a player who has now scored 198 goals for him since 2017? “Exceptional, just exceptional player,” he eventually mustered, before adding: "So a pretty special player, yeah."
Ten goals and four assists in just 12 Premier League games this term have got the Egyptian in razor sharp form heading into Saturday's showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad and only Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Serhou Guirassy of Stuttgart have more in the top five leagues of European football so far.
Guirassy aside, these are the household names and superstars with whom Salah is sharing the limelight with across the European game this term and the numbers behind the weight of goals are just as impressive.
According to statistics compiled by scouting tool Fbref, Salah is in the 99th percentile across Europe's top-five leagues and UEFA competitions for non-penalty goals and touches in the opposition penalty box. His assists number stands at 94 and his shots total is at 89.
Intriguingly, according to Fbref, the players who are deemed as broadly similar based on the numbers reveal a problem Liverpool may have one day if they are in the market for a Salah replacement.
Aston Villa's Moussa Diaby, who deemed as the most similar, has made a flying start to life at Villa Park since his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen and his development is no doubt being watched closely by those further up the food chain but the rest of the top five of this particular list would be deemed prohibitive for various reasons at Anfield.
Vinicius Junior, who is placed second as 'most similar' to Salah, is a Brazil international who is one of the main men of a younger and perhaps hungrier Real Madrid squad, while neither Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli or Leroy Sane of Bayern Munich would be seriously contemplated for reasons that include the age of one, the price-range of the other and the unwillingness of either club to do business.
Donyell Malen, of Borussia Dortmund, is an interesting proposition in third but it requires a huge leap of faith to believe the Netherlands international would be ready to instantly step into any Salah-shaped void that might open up in the Reds squad in the future.
It's why, even at the age of 31, Liverpool must surely be giving serious thought to getting back around the negotiating table with Salah's representative Ramy Abbas to find out the long-term plans of a player who will be entering the final 12 months of his deal next summer.
