Liverpool's winners and losers as Firmino hands Klopp clear problem vs Fulham

Aleksandar Mitrovic stunned Liverpool with a brace as Fulham earnt an important point in their Premier League season opener at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

The Serbian netted a header and bagged from the penalty spot as the Whites twice led against Liverpool with Darwin Nunez first equalising for the Reds and Mohamed Salah later drawing the scores level.

Jurgen Klopp parted company with Sadio Mane in the summer and replaced him with £85million Nunez, who started Saturday's fixture from the bench while Roberto Firmino led the line for Liverpool. The decision somewhat backfired on the German manager in the first half and will have given him plenty to think about. Here are the winners and losers from the 2-2 draw.

Losers

Roberto Firmino

The Brazilian has been the jewel in the crown of Liverpool's front three throughout the Klopp era.

Firmino has led the line in some of Liverpool's most important games, kick-starting Klopp's Gegenpress by closing down defenders and instigating turnovers in play.

Over the past couple of years, his influence has dwindled somewhat as he's found hitting the back of the net an increasingly tough task. He was recently linked with a move to Juventus, but Klopp was quick to rule this out.

"Bobby is crucial for us, the heart and soul of this team, the way we played in the last years was only possible because of Bobby," said the Liverpool manager. "That's why I'm really happy he was able to train for the majority of the time here in pre-season so far.

"Everything looks really good so I am absolutely fine. There is no doubt about Bobby's quality. All the rest we will see how this year goes but he is essential for us."

Klopp started Firmino against Fulham on Saturday instead of his record signing, and it proved to be a bad decision. So much so that it has given the German plenty to consider going forward.

For years Firmino has operated in a false nine, which requires him to drop deep, but on Saturday the Brazilian's positioning did little but overcrowd Liverpool's midfield making it hard for Thiago Alcantara and co. to produce that bit of magic.

He was also slow going forward, with Jordan Henderson the man latching onto the crosses played from deep by Salah and Luiz Dias on either wing.

Klopp swapped Firmino for Nunez in the second half and the impact was immediate. The Uruguayan striker stayed in his number nine position while play developed behind him and as such was in the right place to fire home once Salah picked him out.

Without Sadio Mane in the ranks, Liverpool are going to need to find goals from somewhere and if it's a straight pick between Firmino and Nunez for Klopp, then there's only going to be one winner going forward.

Thiago Alcantara

Many have tipped Thiago to kick on for Liverpool this season and have a campaign to remember after finding his feet last term, and the Spaniard may well do this.

But at Craven Cottage on Saturday the midfielder had a match to forget.

Thiago played only one half after he was forced off with a hamstring injury moments after the break. Klopp has already confirmed it's not looking good for the former Bayern man and has suggested Liverpool may have to make another signing.

Before his injury, Thiago struggled to get into the game in south-west London and found himself crowded out as Joao Palhinha and co. bullied Liverpool's midfield three and left them with little room to operate.

The forced transfer actually worked in Liverpool's favour from a results point of view with Harvey Elliott replacing Thiago and stretching the Reds midfield.

This, coupled with Nunez maintaining space between the midfield and attack, enabled Trent Alexander-Arnold to get in on the act and conjure up a chance for Salah, who in turn teed up the Uruguayan to score.

Winners

Aleksandar Mitrovic

He can't do it in the Premier League. That's what everyone on Twitter will tell you. But on Saturday Mitrovic silenced his doubters with a brace against one of the best teams in the division.

Hungry and with a point to prove, last season's record-breaking Championship striker broke the deadlock and gave Virgil van Dijk a headache for 90 minutes.

Mitrovic clearly loves the physical side of the game and wasn't going to allow the dominance of Van Dijk to overawe him. Instead, he relished in the challenge of competing with him.

The Serbian forward has always been a top operator but has perhaps not taken his chances in the top flight. This season he looks leaner, fitter and faster and on Saturday was only too happy to prove he knows where the back of the net is in any division.

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool appeared to be missing Mane for large spells on Saturday while Salah struggled to get into the game, but it didn't take long for the Egyptian to remind the world why he's arguably the league's best.

Salah is used to stealing the plaudits and the fact he didn't have the best game of his career this Saturday but still managed a goal and an assist speaks volumes for just how good he is.

Liverpool have undergone a lot of change up top in recent seasons with Salah effectively surviving his two strike partners.

And while the spotlight has been on the new boys to see how they'll fit into this new-look Liverpool attack, it hasn't really been considered what impact this has had on Salah.

Strikers are known to have good working relationships with certain individuals on a football pitch and Mane and Salah had that competitive edge that pushed the other to greatness.

It will inevitably take Salah some time to find his feet in this new Liverpool side in the same way it will take Nunez to morph into a perfect Klopp player. But the fact he's still in the goals during this transition is a testament to the star he is.