Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen singled out two players for criticism after the Reds squandered a 3-0 lead against Red Bull Salzburg, before sealing a 4-3 win last night.

Joe Gomez had a torrid time dealing with Salzburg’s quick forward line while Fabinho was overrun in the middle of the park during periods of the second half. Speaking about the pair, Owen said both looked nervous on the ball.

“When it went 3-1 and then 3-2, I thought there were a couple of people that looked nervy. Joe Gomez looked nervy, certainly, Fabinho looked really nervy – he made about three mistakes within the space of five minutes and one led to the goal as well.”

“You think a team that had gone to the Champions League final last season would be very calm in the group stage but they shook them alright and Liverpool did well to arrest that slide and get back on top.”

Manager Jurgen Klopp explained after the match that Salzburg’s change in formation midway through the first half caused his side problems, leading to the Austrian side fighting back to draw level.

Fabinho was left isolated as the Reds kept giving the ball away in the centre of the pitch. However, Gomez’s problems were self-inflicted. He was caught out of position a number of times, failed to win aerial duels and didn’t mark Erling Haaland before the Norwegian equalised.

Klopp will be hoping for a much improved performance when the Reds line up against Leicester City on Saturday.