Liverpool could bask in an evening of good news and, if they wanted, an agreeable omen from history. At the outset this had the hallmarks of a banana skin but they showed little sign of slipping up against foes clad in yellow. Instead they enjoyed as comfortable an opening assignment as they could have wanted and the upsides did not end there.
It bodes nicely that, for the fifth consecutive year, Mohamed Salah wasted no time in getting off the mark. He also recorded two assists, even if one of them owed mainly to good fortune, but the vicious finish that beat Tim Krul all ends up to guarantee the outcome was ample evidence he is in fine nick. He and Liverpool could have scored more but there was pleasure to be taken at both ends of the pitch.
