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Salah remains the Egyptian King

So the one-season wonder continues into a third campaign.

Mohamed Salah will always have his critics, the nit-pickers who pore over every facet of his game in pursuit of a flaw on which to latch.

These are the people who regard the Egyptian as greedy, interested only in himself rather than the team, the ones picking fault in an excellent but goalless display in the Community Shield last Sunday.

They were the ones who were muttering “told you so” when Salah, after one incredible first-half run against Norwich City, chose to shoot when team-mates were better positioned.

But they were also the ones put in their place when, shortly afterwards, Salah produced a trademark, cool left-footed finish for Liverpool 's second.

Read the LFC verdict - Transfer fears eased after emphatic start

And they were surely silent when the Reds forward then turned creator, sending in a pinpoint corner from the left for Virgil van Dijk to bludgeon home a header for the third.

That's now 72 goals and 30 assists in 106 games. These are Cristiano Ronaldo numbers, Lionel Messi numbers, the type of which have rarely if ever been seen at Anfield.

It was his all-round game, though, that truly caught the eye, his pace, direct running and ingenuity too much for the Norwich defenders to handle.

They wouldn't have come up against this in the Championship, that's for sure.

Adrian straight in at number one

Yo, Adrian. Fewer than six days earlier, the Spanish goalkeeper was without a club having been released by West Ham United in the summer.

But six minutes before the break here at a windswept Anfield, he was stepping on to the turf to a huge ovation from the Kop.

Nobody could have envisaged this a week ago. And, in truth, nobody would have wanted to.

That's no slight on Adrian, Liverpool's third and final signing of the summer when his arrival was confirmed on Monday.

But that it took an injury to Alisson Becker for the new boy to be pressed into an instant debut will be of real concern to Jurgen Klopp.

Alisson appeared to tweak his calf muscle when striking the ground on taking a goal kick, requiring lengthy treatment before eschewing the offer of a stretcher and hobbling off around the pitch to applause from an appreciative but muted crowd.

Simon Mignolet, who barely had a sniff of first-team action last season before departing for Club Brugge earlier in the week, will be forgiven for cursing his fortune.

Adrian, though, was given a swift opportunity to acquaint himself to his new surrounds and team-mates. He appeared solid enough, confident with the ball at his feet, and had no chance with Norwich's goal.

To think the 32-year-old could easily have been on his way to Real Valladolid. Instead, he's now primed to star in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday against Chelsea.

Welcome to Liverpool, Adrian.

Defending still a concern

(Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Losing Alisson Becker was bad enough. But Jurgen Klopp will have been unimpressed by parts of an at times far too loose Liverpool display.

Indeed, when Norwich City's Teemu Pukki sent the away fans into raptures by slotting home midway through the second half, it was the very least the visitors merited for the chances they fashioned, particularly during the opening period.

Had Marco Stiepermann brought his shooting boots, the outcome may have been a lot closer.

The defence, unconvincing throughout much of pre-season, does not have the aura yet of one that kept 21 Premier League clean sheets last term.

Joe Gomez was once more preferred to the unfortunate Joel Matip at centre-back and, as at Wembley last Sunday, took a while to grow accustomed to the pace of the match, a hangover of having barely featured since December through injury.

Again, though, the chief concern was down the Liverpool right with Trent Alexander-Arnold at times suffering from being exposed.

Indeed, the defence in general wasn't given the same protection as usual by the midfield, skipper Jordan Henderson the only one of the regular three to shine.

Work to be done, then, for Klopp, ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea. Expect changes - and not just in terms of team selection.