It took just 18 minutes for Antonin Kinsky to show off the fancy footwork that Spurs have sorely missed from their goalkeeper over the past six weeks.
The confident Czech, signed from Slavia Prague on Sunday, performed a clever keep-uppy to get himself out of the danger he was put into by team-mate Radu Dragusin.
Romanian Dragusin had bounced a dangerous ball, but rather than panic, Kinsky cleverly lifted the ball over an advancing Diogo Jota and caught it.
It was a promising snapshot of his ballplaying skills, on display here in his debut.
And one that will have come as a great relief to the fans who watched from behind their sofas as poor old Fraser Forster tried to play AngeBall in Guglielmo Vicario's absence.
Kinsky's former Slavia teammates sat down to watch his Spurs bow during a warm-weather training camp in Marbella, as the club's X account hailed their 'King'.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has decided to continue playing from the back since number 1 Vicario broke his ankle in November.
And while Forster has made some good saves in the meantime, playing smart, short passes under pressure is not his strong suit.
That was made abundantly clear when the 36-year-old made not just one but TWO terrible mistakes that led to goals in the final round of the Carabao Cup last month, which Spurs all but won 4-3 against Manchester United despite leading by three. -0 at some point.
With Vicario not expected back until the end of February, Spurs decided to act and signed 21-year-old Kinsky this month for £12.5 million on a six-and-a-half-year contract.
His agent Viktor Kolar revealed in an interview with Flashscore how difficult the negotiations were to get the deal over the line.
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It included chairman Daniel Levy flying himself to Prague to get things moving with Spurs' technical director Johan Lange.
Kolar said: “Our team was at a petrol station in Prague until almost 10pm on December 31, as everything was closed on New Year's Eve.
“The subsequent development was that Daniel Levy flew in himself on January 1 and the two-day negotiations began in Prague. He had Johan Lange with him.
'The negotiations were intense and lasted well into the night.
“But it worked, and I'm happy with that. It was a nice test to see whether these dominant people and organizations can find their way to each other.”
Kolar also explained how his client discussed the move with Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech before signing on the dotted line.
Kinsky subsequently became the most expensive Czech goalkeeper ever, with his £12.5 million deal surpassing the £10 million Arsenal paid Chelsea for Cech in 2015.
Kolar added: “Toni can consult with Petr and talk about goalkeeping matters.”
Kinsky was brought on directly here against high-flying Liverpool for what was a crucial game in Spurs' season and Postecoglou's tenure.
The blonde stopper looked cool all over – and not just in his short-sleeved goalkeeper shirt.
His presence seemed to calm an injury-hit defense, which has also looked nervous of late, with some accurate passes and solid saves.
Shortly after his keepy-uppy there was a hairy moment when he tried to play out from the back and his pass hit Archie Gray, but he got away with it.
But for the most part, Kinsky looked confident, summed up by how he started the move smartly, which led to Dominic Solanke putting Spurs ahead only to be ruled out for offside.
Solanke shook off the disappointment by bringing another blonde bombshell into the Spurs team, Lucas Bergvall, for an opener that did hold up – much to the delight of Kinsky and his new teammates.
Kinsky then produced his save of the night, turning an inventive move from Liverpool substitute Darwin Nunez around the post in stoppage time.
Postecoglou had said it wasn't just his footwork that convinced Spurs to sign the youngster – and this stop showed that.
Kinsky rounded off his debut with a warm hug from his sister, who looked emotional in the stands next to the supporters.
It's still early days, but on this evidence, Spurs fans can be confident that their new man between the sticks has what it takes to play the high-risk football their manager is pushing for.
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