A last-minute equaliser denied Liverpool an opening day win over Watford.

Stefano Okaka and Abdoulaye Doucore had put the hosts ahead during the first half at Vicarage Road either side of Sadio Mane’s leveller for the Reds.

A Roberto Firmino penalty and a strike from Mohamed Salah in the space of three minutes handed Jurgen Klopp’s side the advantage in the pulsating game.

However it was a 94th minute header from Miguel Britos which prevented Liverpool from making a perfect start to their Premier League campaign.

Here were the key talking points from Vicarage Road:

Coutinho cannot not be sold

 

There can be no dispute that Liverpool’s current front line is laden with quality but the uncertainty over Philippe Coutinho’s future was still laid bare here.

Often toothless apart from a couple of lapses in the Watford backline, they looked bereft of ideas in the opening 45 minutes at Vicarage Road.

Roberto Firmino sparked a turnaround in confidence after the break with a coolly dispatched penalty before later teeing up Mohamed Salah to put the Reds ahead.

But if Coutinho were to be granted his wish to join Barcelona this summer, Jurgen Klopp will face a desperate scramble to find a vital midfield cog.

Jekyll and Hyde duo strike again

 

Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip struggled to handle the Hornets’ speedy attacks all afternoon and that cannot bode well for Liverpool’s defensive pairing.

Their form has veered between extremes of brilliance and abject – a footballing double act which can only be described politest as being Jekyll and Hyde.

Matip is under no illusions of a need to improve on last season and it rang true at Vicarage Road despite the pair having mitigation for their side’s goals conceded.

An improved second-half showing went some way in making amends but those early blunders threaten to remain a going concern over the course of the season.

Can and Henderson hold the line

 

If Matip and Lovren’s at-times shaky pairing was a concern, Emre Can and Jordan Henderson’s own partnership provided the perfect antidote.

Their continued drive and control offered a perfect compliment to the trickery and pace provided by Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane in attack.

On this evidence at least, Klopp could potentially be looking at the Premier League’s strongest midfield unit over the course of this season.

Can, it would appear, is wasted in pursuing a more defensive role with his threats on the counter-attack providing a useful foil for Liverpool going forward.

Changing of the guard at No.1?

 

As a Premier League veteran and now in his fifth season as Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet’s continued unease remains highly surprising.

That nervousness clearly transmits to a defence bereft of confidence and almost threatened to see his side pulled back following the Belgian’s tangle with Lovren.

Questions will resurface as to whether Mignolet was the lesser of two evils and whether Loris Karius may find himself drafted back into front line duty.

His inability to command his line when Miguel Britos bundled home a 94th-minute equaliser may soon see him switched for his German understudy.