Even after Mohamed Salah’s 67th-minute opener at Watford, Liverpool looked to be leaving themselves open to criticism.

While Manchester City strolled to another comfortable victory in a tricky-on-paper fixture courtesy of three first-half goals, the Reds looked to be making life hard for themselves in their own.

And yet, ultimately, they ended up on the right side of a 3-0 scoreline having moved onto their best-ever haul of 33 points from the first 13 games of a Premier League season.

Make no mistake, Jurgen Klopp has constructed an impressive, serious team - the latter fact perhaps best shown by their mature performance following Jordan Henderson’s late dismissal.

The excellence of other sides will be a determining factor in whether that is rewarded with silverware, of course, but it will never subtract from the ecstasy in the away end during a 3-0 win on the road.

Reds fans lead the way with Scudamore protest

Liverpool supporters are not shy of making their voices heard when it comes to the big issues facing the beautiful game.

And so it was no surprise to see them lead the way in protesting the Premier League’s recent decision to hand departing executive chairman Richard Scudamore a £5m farewell bonus at the first available opportunity.

Banners in the away end at Vicarage Road pointed out that Scudamore’s ‘golden handshake’ is equivalent in value to 11,662 Premier League season tickets and 56,180 weekly shops for foodbanks.

Hopefully fans elsewhere will follow suit in showing their disgust at this grotesque misuse of wealth in order to build pressure on the powers that be.

Klopp still searching for ideal midfield

In his press conference to preview this match, Klopp promised he had no fears over using Xherdan Shaqiri behind his much-vaunted front three from the start of an away game.

Asked about having not done so thus far, the German said: "Did we not already? It will happen in the future, I am sure!"

The Reds boss wasted little time in delivering on his word, using all four players from the off here at Watford - though the benefits weren’t immediately clear as the hosts choked the life out of their visitors’ midfield.

Taking a leaf out of Manchester City’s gilded book is almost impossible, but they have shown that using two No8s (in truth, No10s) in this league is an effective solution to deep-lying defences.

To do that, Klopp needs Naby Keita to start firing, and soon.

Henderson tests Klopp’s faith with mixed showing

Klopp never misses an opportunity to show how much he trusts his captain, and that proved to be the case here as the recently fit-again Henderson returned.

However, the midfielder did not perhaps reward that show of faith as he endured a mixed afternoon at Vicarage Road.

The Englishman’s limitations in possession were regularly exposed by Watford’s decision to sit deep and try and close space in more dangerous areas.

And his decision to go in for a late challenge on Etienne Capoue having narrowly avoided a second booking moments before was inexplicable.

Klopp will want more from his skipper when he backs him in tough games going forward.

No fears over short-term Gomez absence

Dejan Lovren’s inclusion on a Liverpool teamsheet may induce groans on social media, but the Croatian continues to prove himself a valuable option for the Reds.

With Joe Gomez out after taking a kick on the ankle in training, Lovren returned to partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds’ defence.

This is a centre-back duo that helped their team to a Champions League final last season, and they never looked truly under threat from a physical Watford frontline.

Although it isn’t expected, supporters should not worry too much if Gomez fails to return in time to face Paris Saint-Germain in midweek - a worthy deputy is ready.

Firmino can flourish after important goal

Nobody will have been as delighted as Roberto Firmino to see Ben Foster push Sadio Mane’s powerful late shot into his path.

The Brazilian notched just his second goal in 12 games for the Reds in nodding the ball home to make it 3-0 to the visitors at the death.

His confidence appears to have been affected by his recent struggles in front of goal, even if scoring is not the only thing that Klopp wants from his No9 in tactical terms.

Regardless, getting on the scoresheet here is likely to do him the world of good.