Richard Buxton: Reds' victory masks issues with Salah, Mane

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane epitomise Liverpool's love and marriage conundrum.

By right, you can't have one without the other but, similarly, they cannot share centre stage.

The Reds' 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League Group C opener yesterday morning (Singapore time) will be remembered more for Roberto Firmino's stoppage-time winner than the intriguing subplot surrounding his teammates.

Yet all does not appear well with two-thirds of Juergen Klopp's attacking totems.

No one can dispute the power of Liverpool's front three; Firmino's 92nd-minute winner was the 100th goal the triumvirate has collectively scored since the start last season.

Since defeat by Real Madrid in May, however, Salah and Mane have resembled trouble and strife far more than their previous match made in footballing heaven.

The Egypt international is a far cry from his previous form, even if statistical comparisons currently belie that reality.

A return of two goals in Salah's opening six matches this season is hardly a drastic comedown from the same stage last term, when he had plundered just one more.

Expectations are that the English Premier League's Golden Boot holder will rediscover the goal trail sooner rather than later, despite not hitting peak form until the second half of the previous campaign, with a prolific strike rate of 19 goals from a run of 16 games in all club competitions from January to May.

Even that came with the caveat of a four-goal haul against Watford, as well as drawing blanks in successive games against Porto and Manchester United at the streak's midway point.

But the parameters are very different this time around.

For one, opponents have scrutinised Salah far more since Sergio Ramos' moment of dark arts at Kiev's Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

STRAPPED SHOULDER

Rehabilitation from that flashpoint in the Ukrainian capital has taken longer than anticipated, with the former Chelsea misfit's shirt change midway through the first half revealing that his shoulder remains subject to heavy strapping almost four months after the infamous incident.

His elevation to a Cristiano Ronaldo level of reverence has also sparked maniacal claims from his compatriots that Mane is attempting to engineer a dressing room rivalry between the pair.

Such theories may be unfounded, with Salah regularly praising his teammate, but they have still struggled to strike up a regular on-field understanding.

A brief link-up in August's win at Crystal Palace currently serves as an exception to the rule rather than the status quo.

Daniel Sturridge's renaissance could not have arrived at a better time. The Englishman once stood where Mane and Salah are now; frighteningly prolific in front of goal yet routinely accused of selfishness.

Until recently, he was staring into the abyss. A loan move to relegated West Bromwich Albion appeared to have left the writing on the wall for his Anfield career.

It proved to be a wake-up call which the former England striker heeded to ultimately regain Klopp's trust again.

In his first Champions League outing in seven seasons, Sturridge produced a perfect blend of everything that Liverpool supporters have long hoped he would eventually become.

He has evolved into a player capable of being as selfless in front of goal as he is ruthless.

Klopp also has the option of taking Mane out of the firing line with Xherdan Shaqiri's cameo against Les Parisiens offering a comparative display of the Senegalese's pace and industry.

Devoid of Salah in Kiev, Klopp was forced to soldier on with Adam Lallana, a player who lacked the like-for-like attributes of the man he replaced as much as regular playing time.

Upgrading that dearth of alternatives over the summer, both through recruitment and inner workings, ensures that the Liverpool manager is unlikely to encounter that situation again.