Liverpool left it late to overcome Fulham, but Trent Alexander-Arnold was once again on hand to rescue his side with a dramatic winner in the 4-3 victory at Anfield.
This was the start of a really important run for Liverpool. Within a week, it will have played twice more, traveling to both Sheffield United and Crystal Palace. Playing on Wednesday night and then again in the early kick-off on Saturday, it will be a big test of exactly how deep Jürgen Klopp's squad really is.
After that is an even bigger-looking week in terms of the magnitude of fixtures, with a dead rubber in the Europa League against Union SG in between. Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League are on either side of a Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with West Ham United, with all of those games being at Anfield.
READ MORE: Five things seen in Liverpool vs Fulham as Trent Alexander-Arnold can't hide Jürgen Klopp worry
READ MORE: Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Fulham as Trent Alexander-Arnold saves poor duo
By the new year, Liverpool will know exactly how its season is shaping up. In an ideal world, it will be top of the Premier League and into a domestic cup semi-final. And with the fixtures that it has, that is very much realistic.
Next five Liverpool fixtures in the Premier League: Sheffield United (A), Crystal Palace (A), Manchester United (H), Arsenal (H), Burnley (A)
The fixtures of the other teams at the top will come into play as well, of course. Manchester City is about to face Spurs but after that does not have many more matches before it travels to the FIFA Club World Cup. Pep Guardiola's side will want to win that competition and will then have league games in hand, but Liverpool has the opportunity to move ahead in the meantime.
Next five Manchester City fixtures in the Premier League (after Spurs at home today): Aston Villa (A), Luton (A), Crystal Palace (H) — and then its Brentford game is postponed because of its participation in the Club World Cup. It returns to league action on December 27 with a trip to play Everton at Goodison Park.
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal should not be forgotten, either. The league leader is facing a more tricky-looking run in its next few matches, however. A midweek trip to Luton will not be simple and Aston Villa, Brighton, Liverpool and West Ham should all be looking at fixtures with the Emirates side as being winnable.
Next five Arsenal fixtures in the Premier League: Luton (A), Aston Villa (A), Brighton (H), Liverpool (A), West Ham (H)
Liverpool can, of course, only continue to focus on itself. But if it can continue its winning run, then there is a real chance for Klopp's side to make some real strides this month, really establishing itself in a Premier League title race.
