A Salah brace – his second from the penalty spot bringing up his milestone after just 65 games in competitions – and further goals from Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane ensured last season's beaten finalists bounced back in style from a dramatic defeat to Napoli last time out.

There appeared little danger of Liverpool suffering a second straight European reverse, though, as Red Star were put to the sword at a raucous Anfield.

The opening 20 minutes were littered with loose Liverpool touches and stray passes, with their defensive work similarly lax as Srdjan Babic ghosted in to volley over the top from a corner.

But the host's first real chance resulted in the opener. Xherdan Shaqiri dissected the Red Star defence and the advancing Andrew Robertson pulled the ball back to Firmino, whose strike deflected beyond goalkeeper Milan Borjan.

Liverpool belatedly found their groove and, after Robertson blazed wide of the target, Salah got in on the act with a clinical finish high past Borjan.

A comfortable second half was then set in motion for Liverpool as Salah smashed home a contentious penalty, Mane having gone down softly under a challenge from Filip Stojkovic.

Borjan's stunning stop from a second Liverpool spot-kick briefly kept Mane at bay after El Fardou Ben was penalised for handball, but the winger soon prodded into the net to cap a positive evening for Liverpool.