Liverpool fans the world over all know what happens next. LFC held on to beat AC Milan in a shootout winning their fifth Champions League/European Cup.

Within the next few days, I started to make my own comeback. The migraines subsided, my appetite returned (I’d lost nearly 20 pounds over a ten day period), and I was able to get out of bed and move around for extended periods of time.

But my hospital stay, in all of its terribleness, led me to Liverpool. I will forever link the Miracle of Istanbul to my own comeback. And for that, I will always be a Kopite, a Red, a Liverpool fan, a Scouser.

An addiction to the beautiful game and arguably its most exciting competition took hold.

But there was something about that game that drove that hook even deeper. Like the first time you taste a craft beer after years of stale macro brews. Or when you get that first sip of 12-year Balvenie after growing up on bottom-shelf bourbon. Whatever it was, I wanted more.

Fans, like myself, looking for a response, saw one. The Mighty Reds looked to have done a complete 180 from the performance against Brighton—and much of the rest of the season as well. They were competent, confident, and all-conquering.

At best, the squad was disjointed. At worst, shambolic. If not for the match against Napoli, it could compete for the worst 90 minutes of football in the Klopp era.

Last night’s version of Liverpool was a revelation. They looked more like the side we’ve come to expect. Energetic, intense, dangerous. Are they back? Fans sure hope so.