Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is having fun again after last season's miserable campaign saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Five successive league wins – the latest a 3-1 success at home to West Ham – moved them into second in the Premier League, two points behind reigning champions Manchester City who have a 100 per cent record.
At the same stage last season the Reds had two wins, two defeats and two draws and were six points off pace-setters Arsenal.
What followed was a campaign of trouble and strife which ended with them four points adrift of the top four after losing nine and drawing 10 of their 38 fixtures.
A midfield refresh over the summer and the development of Darwin Nunez into a genuine threat at centre-forward has already put a different complexion on things and has cheered up Klopp.
“Six games in, performances go in the right direction, results are in a very good direction,” he told Sky Sports.
“It is just good fun. We had a tough year last year and it was not always fun for all of us and this time it looks like it is different and I am really happy.”
That happiness stems from the team gelling well after a complete overhaul of midfield which sees them starting with a different three in the centre, including new signings Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
With five in-form forwards to choose from and back-up defenders Joel Matip and Joe Gomez impressing against West Ham, the squad looks rejuvenated and ready to push City all the way.
“That looks positive. Again, these boys are good footballers and when they have a great day they are extremely good,” Klopp added to the club's website.
“The reaction (to conceding an equaliser) was really top and that is, for us in the moment, the most important thing because we have to become this kind of team where it is really difficult to deal with.
“When we are not playing well we are solid, when we are playing well we are really good.
“That's how you can get consistency and that's what we obviously need.
“It was a really mature performance and that is super-important. You can be exciting and in moments we are exciting but you need to be composed and resilient and solid and I saw all that.
“On your best days these boys are able to perform but to get consistent results you need these kind of things.
“They have done it a few times and we have to keep it until the end of the season.”