They crossed the river in their thousands, with their scarves and their flags in hand, to make one of England's most soulful venues the center of the football world once again.
Nottingham Forest and Liverpool are battling for supremacy at the top of English football, just as they did more than forty years ago when Europe's biggest clubs were stranded on the banks of the Trent.
There have been many such nights for Liverpool in the intervening forty years. Since Forest won the European Cup for the second time in a row in 1980, the Reds have won the trophy three more times and are threatening to dominate the landscape again under Arne Slot.
Forest fans were probably wondering whether they would ever challenge their rivals in the North West again. They spent most of the 2000s outside the top flight of English football and nights like this were like a mirage in those barren days.
Yet here they are, in the top four of the Premier League and dreaming of matches against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan next season.
With fifth place likely to be good enough for a place in next season's Champions League, it's no wonder fans of Nuno Espirito Santo's team are so optimistic. Whatever happens next, they have made their mark on the Premier League this season and the atmosphere in the moments before kick-off was enough to give you chills.
Images of Brian Clough, who became manager here fifty years ago and changed the club forever, flashed on the big screen. Footage of memorable goals followed, from Trevor Francis to Morgan Gibbs-White.
Supporters in the Trent End unveiled banners reading 'This Is Nottingham' and 'We Are The Reds'. The club has adopted Wings' 'Mull of Kintyre' as their modern anthem and as the fans shouted it out, all you could see were red and white scarves.
They roared even louder in the eighth minute when Chris Wood took over Anthony Elanga's pass to fire Forest into the lead. In the first half they cheered every interception from Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, and cheered in delight when Luis Diaz put one into the Trent End or Andy Robertson played a simple pass straight to the ball.
They were booed when Trent Alexander-Arnold grumbled at referee Chris Kavanagh as Liverpool trailed at half-time. “Van Dijk looks upset,” one fan said to his mate as they queued at the bar. “They're there for the taking,” crowed another.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is not happy with the coming and going of these types of occasions. He wants to get this club into the elite and keep it there. It is difficult to overestimate the level of his ambition, and improving Forest's home ground is key.
Somehow the club must attempt to retain the essence of the City Ground whilst upgrading the stadium to meet modern standards and the growing demand for season tickets. It's a difficult circle to square.
Marinakis has discussed leaving the City Ground for a new, state-of-the-art 50,000-seat stadium, but the preference of almost every Forest fan would be to stay here. If the club can strike a deal to buy land close to the stadium, they hope to go ahead permanently later this year.
Many clubs have been here before. Take Tottenham, who left White Hart Lane for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2017. Although the new site beats the old in scale and facilities, it lacks the spirit of the old.
It will take years, maybe even decades, to recreate this. The old Wembley was a relic by the end, but players who attended grand finals there still talk about it with childlike enthusiasm. The new one? Not so much.
This is where Forest can take encouragement from what Liverpool have done.
In September 2016, the Merseysiders completed reconstruction work on the Main Stand, bringing the capacity to 54,000. At the end of last year they upgraded the Anfield Road Stand and the stadium now seats more than 61,000 people. The ground is no less intimidating for visiting teams, and the Kop no less ferocious.
Such things are for the future. On Tuesday evening the supporters' sole focus was on the roar of their teams and a full away match played a full role.
As one of the schmaltzy Champions League slogans goes: this is why we love football. Marinakis knows it too. This ancient site is Forest's greatest asset. No matter how great his plans for this club are, he will certainly never lose sight of that.
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