Liverpool blow it against Watford... but Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane show glimpses of devastating attacking line

• e-mail

There was a moment immediately before half-time when, presented with the possibility of drilling in a shot or sending a testing cross in front of goal, Mohamed Salah blew a miscued effort high over the bar.

It was a moment summed up a frustrating first half for the winger and the rest of his Liverpool colleagues. The second half, however, showed why Jurgen Klopp spoke excitedly before the trip to Watford about the attacking potential of a forward line that includes Salah and Sadio Mane on either flank.

For the manager, the prospect of partnering two pacy wingers is one to relish. 'It makes us more difficult to defend because speed is the most difficult thing to defend in football,' Klopp said.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah proved they could form a devastating partnership in attack

'When Sadio is also on the pitch, we have it on two wings if you want and that's another good thing, so that's how we try to develop our game now and hopefully we can see it at Watford.'

It certainly took a while for Salah to make an impression and the Egypt international will not want to spend too long studying the first 45 minutes of this game.

It took a moment of exceptional individual skill from Mane to bring Liverpool back on terms after conceding an early goal. It was a moment that tellingly arose after Mane drifted over towards the right flank, the position he occupied last season but now occupied by Salah.

The former Chelsea winger was making his first Premier League appearance since January 2015 and perhaps it was inevitable he would take time to find his feet.

Mane scored a great first goal to bring Liverpool back on level terms against Watford

Not that the Egyptian has struggled to settle in with his new team-mates, scoring four goals in pre-season and doing enough to impress his new manager following his £34million move from Roma.

'Everybody can see all of his skills, he really showed up from the first day,' Klopp said.

After the break he lived up to the manager's promise, linking particularly well with Roberto Firmino as Liverpool recovered to take the lead before squandering two points in added time.

Mane and Salah may not have linked directly, but it was clear the second-half threat provided on either flank troubled Watford. Most of Liverpool's attacking play came through Salah and he was guilty of spurning a number of chances to add to his goal.

But the way he raced onto Firmino's flick to win the penalty, converted by the Brazilian, and then followed up his team-mate's lob over the advancing Heurelho Gomes to bundle home Liverpool's third, confirmed Klopp has at his disposal another player who, like Mane, is capable of getting in behind a backline.

Salah won a penalty for Liverpool before giving them the lead in a fine second-half display

Salah celebrates after scoring his first Premier League goal for his new club

This, of course, was a Liverpool side without Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana, the players Klopp will expect to provide the kind of service that should allow Salah and Mane to exploit their pace.

It will clearly take time for Klopp's plans to come to fruition, and Liverpool's unconvincing defence is likely to ensure there will be no shortage of pressure on the forwards to deliver. 

But the manager will believe the evidence of the opening day supports his belief that the presence of Salah and Mane gives his side a different dynamic up front.