Liverpool kicked off their Champions League campaign with a five-goal thriller against AC Milan.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had opened the scoring in the eighth minute when his shot took a deflection off Fikayo Tomori to send it looping over Mike Maignan.

But the Reds were punished for Mohamed Salah’s first penalty miss in four years as the visitors turned the tide with two goals at the end of the first half.

Ante Rebic equalised against the run of play before Brahim Diaz gave Milan the lead after Andy Robertson blocked Alexis Saelemaekers’ shot on the line.

Salah atoned for his spot kick woe within minutes of the interval as he met Divock Origi’s ball over the top to execute a tidy close-range finish.

Jurgen Klopp’s side retook the lead some 20 minutes from time through Jordan Henderson’s drilled half-volley from the edge of the penalty area.

The result propelled Liverpool to Group B leaders after Atletico Madrid and Porto eked out a goalless draw in their own match-up on Wednesday night.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Henderson revives Istanbul spirit

Memories of the 2005 Champions League final invariably came flooding back once Liverpool and AC Milan were both confirmed as participants in Group B.

So perhaps it was inevitable that Anfield received a fresh glimpse of the Istanbul spirit in another second-half fightback against the Serie A giants.

Jordan Henderson’s piledriver which tipped the balance of this encounter lent itself to the prelude to that memorable triumph inside the Ataturk Stadium.

His half-volley stirred echoes of Steven Gerrard’s strike against Olympiakos which helped secure the Reds’ place in the competition’s knockout stages.

💥 WHAT A HIT SON! WHAT. A. HIT. #LFC #UCL #LIVACM pic.twitter.com/o28S6ZRdzb

— Liverpool FC news (@ClickLFC) September 15, 2021

Comparisons with the current Rangers manager often dogged Henderson in the months and years which followed him assuming the captain’s armband.

By personal admission, Henderson’s goals are also not as forthcoming in a red shirt as they proved for Gerrard during his 17 years as the darling of Anfield.

With an honour roll to rival his predecessor and match-winning heroics such as this, however, the midfielder can no longer be considered a pale imitation.

Reds almost pay for their profligacy

For a time, this game had failed to live up to its heavy pre-match billing.

Such was Liverpool’s near-total dominance that their shot tally had already comfortably surpassed double figures in the opening quarter of an hour alone.

They pressed Milan so relentlessly that a one-sided outcome appeared likely, with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s early strike promising to open the floodgates.

Yet somehow, Jurgen Klopp’s side headed in at the interval a goal behind.

Rare lapses in concentration as the half-time interval approached gifted the visitors the chance to snatch a quick-fire double against the run of play.

Milan carved through the Reds’ defence with remarkable ease twice in as many minutes that their overarching dominance threatened to be in vain.

Liverpool’s intensity after the break restored order as Stefano Pioli’s young guns unable to withstand further pressure from home players and fans alike.

But make no mistake, they will need to sharpen up in front of goal as the competition progress to avoid falling afoul of this so-called ‘Group of Death’.

Origi still shining on Euro nights

To say that Divock Origi’s career at Anfield has heavily regressed since his crowning moment two years ago would be something of an understatement.

Since earning cult status for scoring crucial goals in the triumphant run to the 2019 Champions League final, the Belgian has become a peripheral figure.

Origi’s most recent outing prior to facing Milan had arrived as a second-half substitute during March’s last-16 second leg tie with RB Leipzig in Budapest.

His previous start stretched back even further, to a January win at West Ham, which made Klopp’s decision to start him ahead of Sadio Mane a curious one.

Early indications suggested the Liverpool manager had committed an act of folly as Origi appeared lively without producing anything meaningful in attack.

But cometh the hour on a European night, cometh the 26-year-old.

A scooped return pass for Mohamed Salah bamboozled the Milan defence, allowing the Egyptian to stab the ball past Mike Maignan for an equaliser.

He teed up a goal on his last appearance in Europe’s elite club competition, too, ironically for the player whose place he had taken on this occasion.

Klopp finally savours the moment

Three games into Anfield’s season, Klopp finally gave fans what they wanted.

An opening home win against Burnley had not delivered it, nor a hard-fought draw with Premier League title rivals Chelsea before the international break.

Put simply, the Liverpool manager did not feel such marginal gains merited wheeling out the triple fist-pump that has become his trademark at the helm.

But the sheer euphoria swirling inside the famous old stadium at the final whistle gave Klopp license to bound towards The Kop’s baying masses.

Anfield’s first European match with a capacity crowd since a pre-lockdown elimination to Atletico Madrid was always going to be an emotional affair.

Little wonder the German savoured the moment as much as his adoring legions after a memorable result against a continental heavyweight.