Rodgers: That was for the supporters
The fans were at the forefront of Liverpool's desire to reach the FA Cup semi-finals, Brendan Rodgers explained after his team secured a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.
A tough encounter at Ewood Park pushed the Reds all the way in the battle to set up a last four meeting with Aston Villa at Wembley a week on Sunday.
But with vociferous backing from the travelling Kop as they attacked that end in the second half, Philippe Coutinho produced a moment of inspiration to find the winner.
When the final whistle sounded, the visiting supporters could start making plans for a journey to the capital - much to the satisfaction of the manager and players.
Rodgers said at his post-match press conference: "I thought we played very well, both in attack and our defending was very strong.
"Of course you have some moments when the ball is going long into your box, but I thought we stood up to that incredibly well and our positioning and possession was good in the game on a difficult field.
"It was an outstanding team performance, the players deserve a huge amount of credit and they achieved what we wanted to - which was to get to the semi-final.
"It will be a terrific game. Obviously we have got an important game before that as well, but certainly we'll look forward to that.
"We mentioned before the game that the semi-final is played at Wembley, which is one of the great stadiums in the world. But you've got to do the dirty work and get there first, and tonight they did that very well.
"We were heavily criticised and disappointed in both of the games that we played [against Manchester United and Arsenal], because of the standard that we had set.
"So we knew this was vital for us and the supporters - they have given us great backing this evening.
"We felt we disappointed them in those couple of games so this was as much for them, to give them hope that this team is still progressing and still working its way forward.
"But you have to win matches and you have to get into competitions and win trophies to do that. It's going to be a terrific game against Villa and this will hopefully give us a little spark in the league as well."
In the aftermath of the 4-1 defeat by Arsenal last weekend, Rodgers, his staff and the Liverpool squad conducted a team meeting at Melwood to assess areas for improvement.
The Northern Irishman was asked whether he felt the victory over Blackburn was founded on a collective response to the discussion regarding back-to-back Barclays Premier League losses.
"You could see that tonight," he said. "A lot was made of that, but I'm a coach who speaks openly with players. Part of the coaching philosophy is about reviewing and reflecting on performance.
"It's something we've done all year, even when we were winning games. That analysis provides us with the lever to move forward: how can we be better? How can we improve?
"Because we lost a couple of games, there was a lot made of that meeting, but that review is very, very important for how we want to work. If you don't review and analyse your performance, how can you improve and be better?
"I think you saw the outcome of that. The players were very focused. We made points in that [meeting] about how we can improve our performance level, we agree on it, we commit to it and we move forward.
"You saw tonight the shape of the team - we reintroduced 4-3-3 again - we had good positions on the field, were able to keep possession and got into the final third of the field very well with real bright, creative, attacking players.
"It was something we always learn from and we will improve from. It wasn't about saving our season. We want to compete at the top end of the league and challenge for trophies.
"We wanted to win a trophy this year - that has been clear. We just needed to stay calm in the game and focus back on our performance because the two performances against Arsenal and Manchester United weren't up to the standard we had set for three months.
"But you saw tonight the positioning of the team was good. Glen Johnson and Dejan Lovren haven't played a lot recently and they were both outstanding; I thought Joe Allen was magnificent in midfield.
"And I thought Raheem Sterling was absolutely incredible tonight again. It was a very good team performance and one that of course we're happy with."