They crossed the river in their thousands, carrying their scarves and their flags, to turn one of England’s most soulful venues into the centre of the football world once again.

Nottingham Forest and Liverpool tussling for supremacy at the top of English football, just as they did more than 40 years ago when Europe’s greatest clubs ran aground on the banks of the Trent.

For Liverpool, there have been many such nights in the intervening four decades. Since Forest won their second consecutive European Cup in 1980, the Reds have won the trophy three more times and are threatening to dominate the landscape again under Arne Slot.

Forest fans probably wondered if they would ever challenge their rivals to the north-west again. They have spent most of the 2000s outside the top tier of English football and nights like these were like a mirage in those barren days.

Yet here they are, in the top four of the Premier League and dreaming about 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 is no wonder fans of Nuno Espirito Santo’s team are so bullish. Whatever happens now, they have made their mark on the Premier League this term and the atmosphere in the moments before kick-off was enough to give you chills.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has spoken about leaving the City Ground but that should never happen

Images of Brian Clough, who became manager here 50 years ago and changed the club forever, flashed on the big screen. Footage followed of memorable goals, from Trevor Francis to Morgan Gibbs-White.

Supporters in the Trent End unveiled banners that said ‘This Is Nottingham’ and ‘We Are The Reds’. The club have adopted Wings’ ‘Mull of Kintyre’ as their modern anthem and as fans belted it out, all you could see were red and white scarves.

They roared even louder in the eighth minute when Chris Wood took a pass from Anthony Elanga and fired Forest ahead. In the first half they cheered every interception by Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, and bellowed their delight when Luis Diaz put one into the Trent End or Andy Robertson played a simple pass straight into touch.

They booed when Trent Alexander-Arnold grumbled at referee Chris Kavanagh as Liverpool walked off at half-time a goal down. ‘Van Dijk looks rattled,’ remarked one fan to his mate as they queued at the bar. ‘They’re there for the taking,’ crowed another.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is not happy for occasions like these to come and go. He wants to get this club to the elite and keep them there. It is difficult to overstate the level of his ambition, and enhancing Forest’s home holds the key.

Somehow the club must try to retain the City Ground’s essence while upgrading the stadium to meet modern standards and growing demand for season tickets. It is a difficult circle to square.

Marinakis has talked of leaving the City Ground for a new state-of-the-art 50,000-seat stadium yet the preference of nearly every Forest fan would be to stay here. If the club can complete a deal to buy land close to the stadium, they hope to push ahead definitively later this year.

Many clubs have been here before. Take Tottenham, who left White Hart Lane in 2017 to move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. While the new ground beats the old one hands down for scale and facilities, it lacks the spirit of the old place.

That takes years, perhaps even decades, to recreate. The old Wembley was a relic by the end yet still players who experienced major finals there talk about it with childlike excitement. The new one? Not so much.

Nuno Espirito Santo has brought big nights back to the City Ground, and Forest should be pushing for more of them after proving they can hold their own against the league leaders

This is where Forest can take encouragement from what Liverpool have done.

In September 2016 the Merseysiders finished rebuilding work on the Main Stand that took the capacity to 54,000. Late last year they improved the Anfield Road Stand and the stadium now houses more than 61,000. The ground is no less intimidating for visiting teams, nor the Kop any less ferocious.

Such matters are for the future. On Tuesday night, supporters’ only focus was to roar on their teams and a full away end played a full part.

As one of the schmaltzy Champions League slogans has it, this is why we love football. Marinakis knows it, too. This old place is Forest’s greatest asset. However great his plans for this club, he will surely never lose sight of that.