Dean Smith must bridge the gap between romanticism and reality for Norwich City to have a major say in the Premier League relegation scrap.

For an hour at the home of the 19-time English champions this felt like fantasy football. Angus Gunn’s goal still led a charmed life but there was a confidence and self belief in how City tried to engage Liverpool and progress the ball up the pitch.

In Milot Rashica they had a bright spark and willing runner to stretch the Reds' defence. Teemu Pukki will know at the very least he had to work Alisson when slipped through by Brandon Williams, who had no intention of simply shadowing Mo Salah all day.

It was vibrant, it was energetic, it was a team who emitted no sense they were here to compliantly roll over. This was no park the bus exercise, this was let the handbrake off and career forward.

When Rashica’s deflected shot spiralled beyond the stranded Alisson the joy on the Kosovan’s features contrasted with the shock around the rest of Anfield. What followed was a ferocious onslaught from Jurgen Klopp, his players and those home fans.

That mythical boat Timm Klose used to speak about to withstand adverse currents was tossed and turned in the belly of the Kop. Grant Hanley tried to marshal his troops but the waves proved too high. That it took Sadio Mane and Salah to reach for their capes and repel the invaders from Norfolk should soften the blow, and provide reassurance for what is to follow.

Once Luis Diaz had delivered the first downpayment on a reported £37m January transfer with Liverpool’s third the game was up. All that effort, all that character for no tangible reward.

Positivity is a threadbare comfort blanket when you troop back to the sanctuary of the away dressing room to learn the likes of Burnley and Watford have cashed in, with Newcastle’s unbeaten run continuing at West Ham.

For Norwich to finish the weekend bottom of the pile was cruel. But to avoid staying there from here Smith has to filter out the defensive errors that contributed to City’s downfall - as good as the Reds’ attacking armoury proved in the final analysis.

He also needs to try and harness that feeling they did cause one of the very best genuine problems.

Much may be made of the seven changes Klopp made to his starting line up from a midweek Champions League win in Milan, but there were no concessions to the spine of a team that contained Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and the deadly duo up top.

It is not mere hope Norwich must cling to. It is the sight of Mathias Normann in Norwich’s midfield.

There is a reassurance to the tattooed Norwegian gliding effortlessly across the turf, caressing balls into attacking players and showing the positional nous in defensive situations few of his colleagues possess.

It is the sight of Rashica in full flow, with the potential for that landmark career goal to unleash a seam of productivity that may prove the difference. Certainly if he musters the same potency from here Norwich will not go quietly.

But what Smith and Craig Shakespeare must now ensure is the uplifting moments on Merseyside do not become the exception. Perhaps the urgency and intensity shown were fuelled by fear of what could befall them if Liverpool were at their ruthless best.

But in these upcoming games Smith packaged in the ‘make-or-break' basket there is a whole different level of pressure and expectancy.

To leak points to title rivals is one thing. Quite another for a Brentford or a Burnley or a Newcastle to get a leg up at Norwich’s expense. That was the problem under Daniel Farke earlier in the season, and it made the task of survival even harder. Repeat that trend now and it will confirm the inevitable.

Smith has shown himself to be tactically astute, innovative in his man management and bullish in his messaging. But the experience he has of lasting the course and distance with previous clubs is priceless.

At both Walsall, in his first career posting, and more recently Aston Villa, in that Premier League season when City careered through the trapdoor to land with an almighty thud back in the Championship, Smith led last day escapes.

Whether the nerves would hold if Tottenham’s season finale at Carrow Road in late May contained a shot at survival is another matter entirely.

But to take this all the way will require Norwich remain as bold and confident as they were against one of the best.