Mohamed Salah looked to have set a Reds team featuring European debutant Leighton Clarkson up for a comfortable victory when he scored within the first minute in Denmark.

However, the spirited host fought back through Alexander Scholz's second-half penalty, and were perhaps unfortunate not to win at the end of a performance that belied its status as group whipping boy.

With a starting XI showing eight changes from the weekend win over Wolves, the visitor might have been expected to make a slow start to proceedings.

Instead, it netted the quickest goal in their Champions League history, Salah latching onto Scholz's loose backpass and fending off two defenders before poking home with 55 seconds gone.

It would have been 2-0 shortly after but for an instinctive Jesper Hansen save from Diogo Jota's close-range effort.

However, Midtjylland responded well, Sory Kaba drawing a goal-line clearance from Fabinho with a back-post header before testing Caoimhin Kelleher with a powerful shot from a tight angle.

The host took that attacking intent into the second half, too, Anders Dreyer meeting a dropping ball to smash the crossbar shortly after the restart.

And it was given a deserved route back into the game on the hour mark when Dreyer was adjudged - following a lengthy VAR check - to have brought down by an onrushing Kelleher in the box, allowing Scholz to score from the spot.

Seemingly at the heart of every key event in the match, Scholz thought he had grabbed his second with a fine finish from a tight angle following a set-piece delivery but this time the VAR intervention went against the host.

Takumi Minamino thought he had won it at the end when he turned home after latching onto Sadio Mane's header only for VAR to rule it out for a handball from the Senegalese.