Two goals in as many minutes helped Liverpool to a 2-0 win over Salzburg.

Naby Keita broke the deadlock of a cagey encounter midway through the second half with a header against his old club by meeting Sadio Mane’s floated cross.

Two minutes later, Mohamed Salah scored an impressive goal as he rounded Cican Stankovic and squeezed his shot from an incredibly tight angle into the net.

It meant that the European champions topped their Champions League group and will head into this month’s last 16 draw as one of the seeded favourites.

Here were the key talking points from the Red Bull Arena:

Reds leave it late again in Europe

 

If Liverpool’s approach to Champions League knock-out qualification was a holiday, they would be rushing to the departure gate at the final moment.

For a third consecutive season, the European champions have left it late to book their place in the last 16; again waiting until the final group game to clinch it.

Admittedly Jurgen Klopp would have preferred not to complicate an already congested December fixture list by toiling for large parts against Salzburg.

But his side’s Group E campaign was yet another difficult one to negotiate, with renewed acquaintances against Napoli as well as their frenetic hosts to contend.

Liverpool have never done things the easy way but can at least head to the Club World Cup safe in the knowledge that their European reign will extend into 2020.

Keita finally comes good

 

This performance has been a long time coming for Naby Keita.

Many at Anfield doubted it would ever materialise after a frustrating start following his eventual £52.75 million move from RB Leipzig last summer.

It was telling that the Guinea international’s name ever entered the conversation when stopgap successors during Fabinho’s lengthy lay-off were discussed.

Back on familiar terrain, however, Keita banished that dismal 12-month spell with a commanding midfield performance throughout and a vital first goal to boot.

In addition to the goal, he made five successful recoveries, won eight duels and created two chances in an 86-minute outing against his former employers.

One swallow does not make a summer yet Keita’s belated underlining of his qualities should provoke a serious rethink on Fabinho’s absence if nothing else.

Alisson weathers the storm

 

Salzburg’s bid to avoid a Europa League drop-in made this encounter an uncomfortable affair for the visitors’ defence either side of the half-time interval.

In the first seven minutes alone, Alisson made more saves than understudy Adrian amassed during October’s seven-goal thriller between the sides at Anfield.

Erling Braut Haaland and Hwang Hee-chan were perennial threats to the Brazilian’s goal as they sought to pull off an unlikely scalp in this Group E finale.

Somehow Alisson achieved something which no other goalkeeper has managed this season and recording Salzburg’s first shut-out from their opening 25 games.

That Haaland and company had scored three or more goals in over half of their 12 matches prior to Liverpool, it was no mean feat by Europe’s top stopper.

Klopp was indebted to Alisson for sparing his side’s blushes with a last-gasp save against Napoli exactly 12 months ago and owes further gratitude to him tonight.

Salah carries on up the charts

 

Mohamed Salah is a genuine enigma in the modern game. He somehow manages to make simple things look complicated and difficult ones seem easy.

The Egyptian cut a frustrating figure for most of this game; spurning chance upon chance as they were laid on a plate for him by teammate Sadio Mane.

Yet Salah’s 20th goal for Liverpool in the Champions League was one to savour as he went past an advancing Cican Stankovic and turned the ball into the net.

Stankovic thought he had done the hard work in dragging his opponent out wide. Salzburg’s goalkeeper should have known far better than that.

Tight-angled strikes that border on physics-defying are a hallmark of Salah’s Anfield career and the ease with which he slotted this one followed that theme.

He is now just 10 goals away from matching Steven Gerrard’s continental goal record and matched Luis Suarez’s haul of 82 in just eight games fewer.

Not bad for a supposed one-season wonder.