Liverpool spent £450 million in one summer. Four hundred and fifty million pounds. And they are somehow preparing for a Saturday showdown with Chelsea that feels less like a title clash and more like two giants trying to remember where they left their boots.
It is genuinely mad when you think about it. Last season's champions against the Club World Cup winners and neither of them look anything like what that sentence suggests. Arne Slot won the league and then essentially told everyone the team had been running on fumes by the end of it. Which, fair enough, honesty is refreshing. But then you spend nearly half a billion quid including Alexander Isak at £125m and suddenly the expectations go from refreshingly modest to absolutely stratospheric overnight. You cannot have it both ways mate.
And then the tragedy of losing Diogo Jota. That cannot be underestimated. Players are human beings first and footballers second, and only the people inside that dressing room truly know what that grief has done to them this season. Some things go beyond tactics and transfer fees and that is one of them. Real life has a way of reminding you football is just a game, even when it does not feel like it.
Chelsea on the other hand are Chelsea. They won the Club World Cup which sounds brilliant until you remember they have been cycling through managers and hundreds of millions in transfer spend for years like it is a lifestyle choice. It is like watching someone win the pub quiz while their house is on fire.
Saturday's game feels like it means something though, even in a season that has gone sideways for both clubs. These matches always do. History, pride, big names on the pitch. When Liverpool and Chelsea get together there is always something in it regardless of the league table.
Both clubs need a performance. Both clubs need their expensive signings to start looking worth the money. Both clubs need something to build on before next season arrives and the whole circus starts again.
Let me know your thoughts.