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No matter how hard Liverpool fight to keep Philippe Coutinho it will not address the frailties which undermined them at Watford.

Indeed, no matter how hard they fight to prise Virgil van Dijk from Southampton, it is hard to see how one more centre-half might cure all the ills.

It may be a new season but it opened with familiar old problems for Jurgen Klopp and his team and they were encapsulated by the equaliser in stoppage-time by Miguel Britos.  

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Miguel Britos earned a spectacular draw at Vicarage Road as his injury-time goal sent the game to 3-3 

Stefano Okaka opened the scoring at Vicarage Road after powering a header past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet

Sadio Mane provided an emphatic comeback for the visitors with a smart finish which was curled into the top corner

Before Abdoulaye Doucoure then struck three minutes later to restore Watford's lead after he slotted into an open goal

Salah was then taken down in the box just after half time by Hereulho Gomes and Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot

Roberto Firmino then converted, slotting the ball right into the bottom-right corner of Gomes's goal to level the match again

Before the £39million signing from Roma capped off a stunning move to score what looked like the winner at Vicarage Road

But Britos bundled in the sixth goal of the game to take a share of the points as Mignolet was helpless in the Liverpool goal

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Salah's decisive goal assisted by Firmino

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It was certainly not pretty and it was probably not fair given Britos was offside when Ricarlison's effort from a near-post corner was diverted against the bar by the right hand of Simon Mignolet.

Any offence escaped the attention of the officials, however, and the Watford centre-half had the strength to keep Mignolet at bay as he nodded the rebound into the net from a matter of inches.

Vicarage Road erupted to acclaim the sixth goal of another breathless game in the Premier League and the rightful heir to the pulsating chaos of the opener between Arsenal and Leicester on Friday night.

Liverpool had started badly, gone behind from a set-piece and recovered, gone behind to another goal with a strong hint of offside and then taken control with two goals in two second-half minutes.

For half-an-hour or so, Mohamed Salah, so often untidy and wasteful, was cast as the goal hero on his return to the Premier League.  

Both managers meet before the game as Jurgen Klopp and Marco Silva shake hands prior to kick off

Watford players huddle together before kick off as they prepare for their season opener against the Merseyside outfit

Hornets boss Silva looks on from the sideline as he prepares for his first Premier League outing in charge of Watford

Daryl Janmaat skips away from Mane down the right wing as Watford look to take an early advantage at Vicarage Road

New signing Nathaniel Chalobah controls the ball on his chest as he looks to unleash an attack for his side

And Okaka opened his account for the season after he leapt above the Liverpool defence to head home the opener

Firmino looks dejected on the half-way line as his side go behind early courtesy of Okaka's goal

Liverpool boss Klopp looks on as his side begin the game cautiously and go behind early to the hosts

KLOPP UNHAPPY AS WATFORD GET LUCKY... TWICE

There were questions about Watford’s second and third goals. Such as, was Stefano Okaka offside in the build-up to Abdoulaye Doucoure’s strike? 

As the scorer found Tom Cleverley on the right, Okaka seemed to be. 

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was more concerned about the third, when Miguel Britos was clearly offside before he bundled home after Richarlison’s near-post effort.

Then Liverpool conceded another goal from another corner and the points were shared.

'That's really not that fun,' fumed Klopp. 'It was offside and that's difficult to accept, be we know we can do better and we have to do better.

'You cannot expect perfection in the first match but I was not happy in the first-half when it was obviously very physical and Watford were the winners in these situations.

'They didn't create too much with the ball but they scored two goals and everyone will say: 'Oh, it was a set-piece'.'

They will because it was and it so often is where Liverpool are concerned.

Jose Holebas delivered an inswinging corner with wonderful pace and shape, and Stefano Okaka ran away from one red shirt and past another to meet it without challenge.

Okaka was only four yards out when he made contact but Mignolet showed no inclination to leave his line and was powerless to keep out the firm header.

'I'm not fed up talking about set-pieces,' said Klopp. 'I have to talk about it. We defended most of them really well, but at the end is it enough if we concede one goal? No.

'We have to work on it but there are a lot of things to work on. No direction in the first-half. Much better in the second-half, playing football but it leads to nothing.'

Going forward, Liverpool can be quick and dangerous and they levelled at 1-1 through a slick passing move which revolved around Sadio Mane, who eased the ball to Alberto Moreno and continued his run.

Moreno zipped a pass into the feet of Emre Can, who found Mane with a flick and the Senegal striker clipped a clinical finish past Heurelho Gomes.

Watford's second was scored by Abdoulaye Doucoure amid more comic capers from Liverpool and another appeal in vain for an offside flag.   

But Mane got his side back on terms with a beautiful curling effort after 29 minutes which sailed past Gomes 

Mane drops to his knees in celebration as he scores his first goal of the season and gets his campaign up and running

Nordin Amrabat of Watford and Georginio Wijnaldum of Liverpool battle for possession during the first half 

Doucoure did not take long to restore the hosts' lead as he slotted home into an open goal after half an hour

Doucoure and Britos celebrate in tandem as Watford take a 2-1 lead into the half-time break

Gomes turns to the crowd, drops to his knees and celebrates with a fist pump as Watford take a 2-1 lead 

Salah takes a shot at goal as Liverpool attempt to ramp up the pressure in the second half and come out firing

It was a penalty decision which eventually got Liverpool back in the game as Salah is brought down by the keeper in the box

And it was Firmino who converted pressure into a goal after Salah earned his side a penalty and the Brazilian slotted home

Doucoure found Tom Cleverley on the right and his low cross was fired by right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold into centre-half Joel Matip, who was in a heap on the floor. The ricochet dropped kindly for Doucoure to sweep it into the net.

This time, the offside call concerned Okaka, who was a yard off when Doucoure passed to Cleverley and, although he did not touch the ball, the presence of the big centre-forward was central to the tangle between Alexander-Arnold and Matip.

Whatever instruction Klopp gave at half-time had the desired effect on his team and in particular Salah, who turned the game in a matter of minutes soon after the interval.

First he was simply too quick for Gomes as he burst onto a through ball and was toppled by the Watford goalkeeper. Referee Anthony Taylor took his time before awarding the penalty but this time he made the right call.  

And Salah thought he had won it, Firmino found him in space at the far post and he poked home a volley

The goalscorers run to the crowd in celebration as they believe they have secured an opening-game win for the Reds

But it was Britos who had other ideas, as another set-piece undid Klopp's men as Watford earned a crucial draw

Firmino beat Gomes from the spot and within two minutes, Liverpool were ahead for the first time.

Britos played Firmino onside and the Brazilian latched onto a long pass out of defence by Lovren and lobbed the goalkeeper to leave Salah with the task of beating Britos in a race to score his first since a £34million transfer from Roma.

Liverpool threatened to overwhelm their hosts. Matip glanced a corner against the frame of the goal, Lovren forced a smart save from Gomes and Salah whistled another over when he ought to have hit the target.

These chances took on an extra significance after Britos made it 3-3 and gave Marco Silva something to celebrate on his first game as manager of Watford.

'It was a good result and a fair result,' said Silva. 'I didn't like the first 25 minutes of the second-half but we reacted well. We left it to the end but it was really important and deserved.' 

There were complaints of offside from the Liverpool players but neither linesman nor referee penalised the hosts

Gomes once again leaps and punches the air as the crowd celebrate a dramatic comeback late on at Vicarage Road