Europa League: The Linfield talking points 14 months on from Qarabag glory night

The power. The skill. The finish. And, of course, the unbridled joy.

Shayne Lavery's wonder goal against FK Qarabag, external in last season's Europa League play-off was one of the best ever scored at Windsor Park.

Given the quality of the opposition - the Azerbaijani champions had previously drawn home and away with Athletico Madrid in the Champions League - it became the iconic moment of a fantastic run in the competition that took the Blues to the verge of the group stages.

That Lavery-inspired 3-2 home win was followed up by a close 2-1 defeat in the away leg. It meant David Healy's men bowed out, but not before they had restored a lot of pride in the Irish League on the continental stage.

The Irish Premiership champions are about to embark on another Europa League journey at home to Maltese champions Floriana on Thursday. BBC Sport NI examines some of the key talking points that have developed around the Linfield camp since last season's epic adventure.

Lavery's goal really did light up the south Belfast stadium - just ask the ball boy whose sprinting celebration made him a viral sensation. And, speaking of viral, almost 1.5 million people have watched the goal online.

The then 20-year-old, having joined from Everton in the summer, had scored in the previous two matches and also scored in the away leg. Indeed, a hat-trick against Glenavon at the end of September made it nine goals in his first 13 games for Linfield.

It earned the Under-21 international a call-up to the Northern Ireland senior squad, but the goals began to dry up.

After such a dynamic start to life at Linfield, which had many predicting a January move back to England or Scotland, from October he netted seven times in 24 appearances before the season was curtailed in March.

Lavery has started both Linfield's European games this season and was again included in this month's NI squad. His quality is certainly not in question, but Linfield fans will be hoping he comes alive in Europe once again.

While Lavery stole the headlines in Europe, it was former Glenavon wide man Joel Cooper who became the side's talisman as the season progressed.

A strong runner with a bag of tricks at his disposal, Cooper's contribution of 13 goals and numerous assists from either flank made him a vital player for the Blues as they navigated their ultimately successful title defence.

With the Irish League becoming an increasingly attractive marketplace for English and Scottish clubs, Cooper followed his former Mourneview Park team-mate Mark Sykes by joining League One's Oxford United in the summer.

The loss of Cooper was softened somewhat by the signing of Navid Nasseri. Controversially pinched from under Glentoran's noses the morning after their Irish Cup win at the end of July, Linfield fans will hope he can replace the consistent threat that Cooper posed.

Although not identical in style and more right-footed than Cooper, Nasseri showed his dribbling and finishing quality for the Glens last season, none more so than in the recent cup semi-final and final when he was instrumental in the east Belfast side's success.

While Nasseri was the flagship signing of Linfield's off season, Healy has also made other additions to the squad, with the capture of 25-year-old Coleraine goalkeeper Chris Johns perhaps the most significant.

The now-departed Gareth Deane and Motherwell loanee Rohan Ferguson performed admirably after Roy Carrol's retirement, but there is much more of a long-term feel about the arrival of Johns, who has been a consistent performer over a number of seasons for the Bannsiders.

Conor Pepper joined Nasseri in making the move from east to south across Belfast and, while he was used mostly in midfield by the Glens, it is perhaps at right-back where he could be of most use to Healy after he released Chris Casementin the summer.

French forward Christy Manzinga has also arrived at Windsor Park from Motherwell on a two-year deal. He came off the bench to score in the Blues' Champions League preliminary round win over Tre Fiori FC and Healy will be hoping he can bolster his attacking options.

Speaking to the Linfield website last month, Mark Stafford said he believes his young centre-half partner Ross Larkin could prove to be one of the biggest signings Linfield have made in recent years.

After joining from Portadown in the summer of 2019, the Newry native made his debut against Rosenberg in the Champions League but was only used sparingly by Healy during the rest of the season.

Now 21, Larkin has played in both of Linfield's Champions League games this campaign - the win over Tre Fiori FC and the defeat by Legia Warsaw - and last week scored on his debut for Northern Ireland Under-21s in their 2-0 win over Malta.

Ports boss Matthew Tipton was a big fan of Larkin' when he had him at Shamrock Park and, while he is not short of defensive options. it looks like Healy could be beginning to place his faith in a player he said he had been watching closely before signing.