Two goals in as many minutes from Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah meant they avoided an embarrassing early Champions League exit by winning 2-0 in Salzburg on Tuesday.

Salah had been guilty of missing a host of big chances as Liverpool walked a tightrope for nearly an hour, but made amends with a sumptuous finish from a narrow angle after Keita’s header had settled the holders’ nerves.

Any hope left for Salzburg to spring an upset evaporated when Salah implausibly scored from the most difficult chance he had all evening. The Egyptian seemed to have been forced too far wide on his right foot as Stankovic raced from his goal once again, but Salah somehow bent the ball with unerring accuracy into the far corner.

In each of the last two seasons Liverpool have also needed to get points in their final group game before going onto reach the final and no one will want to face Klopp’s men again come the knockout stages. However, a first English title in 30 years may be the priority for the Reds, who now have an eight-point lead over Leicester at the top of the Premier League table.

“Mo scored the most difficult situation of the whole night! (sic)” an incredulous manager Jurgen Klopp was quoted as saying by BT Sport. “I have no idea [how]. With his quality, how he didn’t score one or two of the others I have no clue.

“He played really well but didn’t score in the situations we expect him usually to score, but staying on track and making such a decisive and very difficult finish, that probably says much more about him than all of the other goals he has scored. So, staying concentrated, belief in the next moment, it was brilliant. A very, very difficult goal but a sensational finish.”

(With inputs from AFP)