Mohamed Salah reminded everyone of his sharp finishing (Getty)
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Mohamed Salah finally returned to the lethal form Liverpool fans have come to expect after his first half strike sealed an unsteady victory against a valiant Huddersfield.
It was a serene rekindling of old Dortmund ties between Jurgen Klopp and David Wagner who conducted their post-match interviews as a pair but on the pitch Liverpool were decidedly sloppy and Huddersfield will rue a number of missed opportunities that could have dragged them out of the drop zone.
Salah's 50th Premier League goal came in the 24th minute after a deft ball by surprise Swiss starter Xherdan Shaqiri teed him up for a neat finish into the bottom corner.
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The Egyptian reacted to his first goal for four games with a mixture of ecstasy and relief but it was then Huddersfield who began to take a foothold in the match when many might have expected this season's more ruthless Reds to add to their tally.
Jonathon Hogg belted a long-range effort against the post and just minutes later Alex Pritchard thought his close-range chip over Alisson had levelled the match before being ruled narrowly offside.
The pattern continued in the second half as Huddersfield continued to spurned opportunities which might have changed the fate of the game.
Salah celebrates with James Milner after scoring his first goal in four (Getty)
Jurgen Klopp brought on Fabinho to try and reinforce the protection in front of Liverpool's defence but even then Huddersfield substitute Steve Mounie wasted a glorious chance with less than ten minutes to go when the ball fortuitously bumbled to him in the box only to wildly thrash it skyward.
The victory put Liverpool back on equal footing with Manchester City, who walloped Burnley earlier in the day, and two in front of Chelsea after their draw with Manchester United.
Huddersfield, however, remain winless in nine and sit in the uncomfortable saddle of the relegation zone with just three points.
He is indeed. Fabinho comes on. Presumably Xherdan Shaqiri will move into the attacking three.
Steve Mounie comes on to provide extra ballast up front, while Isaac Mbenza is also brought on to add pace on Huddersfield's right. Florent Hadergjonaj and Philip Billing go off.
Fabinho has gone to the base of Liverpool's midfield, with Georginio Wijnaldum now on the right of the midfield three and Xherdan Shaqiri pushed on to the left wing.
Huddersfield are no playing a virtual 3-3-4, with Erik Durm and Mbenza flanking Mounie and Laurent Depoitre. Going for broke.
Roberto Firmino has a three-on-one but somehow manages to undercut his pass to Mohamed Salah to such a degree that Huddersfield recover and knock it out for a throw. Xherdan Shaqiri was in a different postcode to any player in blue and white and Firmino bizarrely opted to ignore him.
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