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10 of Mo Salah’s best European goals – From Salzburg magic to City class

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10 of Mo Salah’s best European goals – From Salzburg magic to City class

Mohamed Salah‘s genius has been a delight to witness since he arrived at Liverpool, and his 50th goal for the club in European competition highlighted how lucky we are to have him.

The Egyptian has broken countless records and while those outside of Liverpool’s four walls may greatly underappreciate his talent, it is not the case inside Anfield.

Salah is the player who gets you out of your seat, who can conjure up a moment of sheer brilliance at the drop of a hat and has won games almost single-handedly.

In Europe, he is the club’s all-time record goalscorer and against Lille he notched his 50th strike in his 83rd continental appearance – a return that will be hard to surpass!

Here, we pick out 10 of his best goals in a Liverpool shirt in European competition – they are in no particular order as it is almost an impossible job!

 

Man City – 2018

The away leg at Man City in the 2017/18 season was as tense as anything, especially when Pep Guardiola’s side made it 3-1 on aggregate – but we never had anything to worry about, did we?

This was a sublime team move from back to front, with Salah picking up where Sadio Mane left off to finish from a tight angle. He didn’t even need to wait for the ball to hit the net, he knew.

An instinctive finish and the celebration in front of the away fans was even better.

 

Ajax – 2022

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - Wednesday, October 26, 2022: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores the first goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A matchday 5 game between AFC Ajax and Liverpool FC at the Amsterdam Arena. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The way the 2022/23 Champions League campaign ended, you could be forgiven for letting this goal slip your mind but it does not change the fact that it was a beauty.

Jordan Henderson‘s pass took a couple of bounces on its way to Salah but that did not throw him off, instead he pulled off a first-time finish over the onrushing goalkeeper.

A goal that showcased his awareness, composure and quick-thinking.

 

Roma – 2018

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 24, 2018: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores the first goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg match between Liverpool FC and AS Roma at Anfield. (Pic by Carlo Baroncini/Propaganda)

No wonder Alisson was quick to join the Reds the following season, I’d also rather be watching Salah’s goals than trying to save them!

His brace against Roma was accompanied by two assists, but it was his first strike that makes this list with a trademark finish into the top right corner from the edge of the box.

It clipped the crossbar on the way in, inch-perfect. What were the Roma defenders thinking giving him all that space?

 

Rangers, 2022

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - Wednesday, October 12, 2022: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the fifth goal, completing his hat-trick, during the UEFA Champions League Group A matchday 4 game between Glasgow Rangers FC and Liverpool FC at Ibrox Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Salah came off the bench in the 68th minute and by the time he walked off, he had three goals as Liverpool returned to Merseyside with a 7-1 victory.

It was his second of the night that lives long in the memory, stopping the ball on the edge of the area to leave Rangers’ defenders out of position as he nonchalantly steered it past Allan McGregor.

He even made me think I could copy him by making it look so easy.

 

LASK, 2023

The game was won but that was never going to stop Salah from turning to his bag of tricks. He forced his way into a shooting position and finished with the outside of his boot between the goalkeeper’s legs.

You really can’t stop the inevitable!

 

Napoli – 2018

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, December 11, 2018: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores the first goal during the UEFA Champions League Group C match between Liverpool FC and SSC Napoli at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

We all, rightly, rave about Alisson‘s match-defining save against the Italian side, but Salah’s goal in the 1-0 win was just as monumental on the road to Madrid.

It was a cracker in its own right, too. Kalidou Koulibaly was bamboozled before a perfect strike across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner – the relief inside Anfield was palpable.

He was always destined to be the man for the big moments.

 

Genk, 2018

GENK, BELGIUM - Wednesday, October 23, 2019: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (L) celebrates scoring the fourth goal with team-mate Sadio Mane during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between KRC Genk and Liverpool FC at the KRC Genk Arena. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Back to the days when Sadio Mane was the one feeding the ball to Salah; this was a show of body strength with the defender seemingly wanting a piggyback from the No. 11.

Not to worry, though, Salah worked himself out of the tight situation beautifully with a quick change of direction and a finish back across the ‘keeper.

The Egyptian was already wheeling away to celebrate before the defender he’d slipped by had even moved an inch.

 

Bologna, 2024

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, October 2, 2024: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring the second goal during the UEFA Champions League game between Liverpool FC and Bologna FC 1909 at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

One from this year and it combines a lot of the qualities seen from goals throughout this list, from the dip of his shoulder to the outfoxing of his opponent, and the finish into the top corner.

An archetype strike from the 32-year-old at the Kop-end no less. How does he make it all look so easy?!

 

Tottenham – 2019

MADRID, SPAIN - SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2019: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his sides first goal from the penalty spot to make the score 0-1 during the UEFA Champions League Final match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC at the Estadio Metropolitano. (Pic by Paul Greenwood/Propaganda)

The only penalty on this list, rightly so. But if you take into consideration the pressure and the timing of the spot kick, not to mention what was at stake, there’s no way it could be left out.

Incredibly, Salah later admitted that, “I changed my mind at the last second before hitting the ball.”

Ol’ Big Ears was quite the reward at the end of the night.

 

Salzburg – 2019

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - Tuesday, December 10, 2019: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores the second goal during the final UEFA Champions League Group E match between FC Salzburg and Liverpool FC at the Red Bull Arena. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

He was almost parallel to the byline, at an extraordinarily acute angle and with a goalkeeper on his tail – and yet the ball nestled perfectly into the empty net.

Take a bow, Mo. Take a bow.

It remains one of the prime examples of his individual brilliance. One of his very best.

Mo Salah la-la-la la-ahh, The Egyptian King!’



Source link – www.thisisanfield.com

Tags: Liverpool FC

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