Jurgen Klopp looked on the bright side of Liverpool's first defeat in 44 Premier League matches and is hopeful "free football" will return now they no longer have the pressure associated with potentially going unbeaten for a full season.
Liverpool went into Saturday's match at Vicarage Road having won 18 successive league games, one shy of a new record, while they were 44 matches unbeaten.
But Watford produced a fine performance to stun the Reds – Ismaila Sarr leading the way with two goals and an assist for Troy Deeney's clincher 17 minutes from time.