{"id":660113,"date":"2026-05-23T08:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T08:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/660113\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T08:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T08:29:08","slug":"the-joy-of-six-mohamed-salah-at-liverpool-mohamed-salah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/660113\/","title":{"rendered":"The Joy of Six: Mohamed Salah at Liverpool | Mohamed Salah"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was surely the worst moment of Mohamed Salah\u2019s Liverpool career, yet the reaction said everything about his impact on the English game; the respect he had earned in his first season at Anfield. It was not just the Liverpool support who were upset to see Salah so upset, leaving the pitch at Kyiv\u2019s Olimpiyskiy Stadium in tears, utterly inconsolable, having been levered out of the biggest game of his life<\/a> by Real Madrid\u2019s pantomime villain, Sergio Ramos. It was fans of all stripes. After the season Salah had enjoyed, what he did and how he carried himself, everyone knew he did not deserve this. There was the sense that Salah\u2019s humility as much as his brilliance transcended tribal divides.<\/p>\n

Liverpool had high hopes for Salah when they signed him from Roma in the summer of 2017. He soared beyond them; his debut season underpinned by an intoxicating certainty. He did not think he was going to score whenever he stepped on to the pitch; he knew it. There were 44 goals in all competitions; 16 assists into the bargain. He was voted the Professional Footballers\u2019 Associations\u2019s player of the year and the Champions League final was to be the crowning glory. Ramos had other ideas, his subtle yet brutal hold-and-twist move damaging Salah\u2019s shoulder ligaments.<\/p>\n

When he went off in the 30th minute, it was 0-0. Madrid won 3-1. The episode advertised something else \u2013 Salah\u2019s steeliness, his obsession with using tough moments as fuel. There was a redemption story to be written in the Champions League. Salah would write it. DH<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Persistence pays off against Spurs in 2019<\/p>\n

In the final nine matches of the 2018-19 season, all of them won by the two title rivals, the latest Manchester City took an ultimately decisive lead was in the 70th minute of their penultimate game, through Vincent Kompany\u2019s famous strike against Leicester. Mohamed Salah<\/a> and his Liverpool teammates put themselves and the fans through the wringer time and again to stay on City\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n

Three other times in their nine games \u2013 against Fulham, Southampton and Newcastle \u2013 Liverpool found a winner in the 80th minute or later. But it was against Tottenham on 31 March that the nerves were most stretched. After Lucas Moura cancelled out Roberto Firmino\u2019s goal with 20 minutes left, J\u00fcrgen Klopp told his players to throw everything they had at getting a winner, whatever the risk of conceding.<\/p>\n

Trent Alexander-Arnold had a shot tipped over, then struck a cross that Virgil Van Dijk just missed and deflected to Hugo Lloris after striking Firmino. Divock Origi\u2019s free-kick deflected just the wrong side of a post. But the goal would not come. And then, in the 90th minute \u2026 Alexander-Arnold\u2019s second ball in from a corner was deep. There was no chance to bring it under control and if the back-pedalling Salah had attempted to do so it could have gone out of play.<\/p>\n

Instead, he did what he could: heading the ball back into the danger area to give Lloris something to deal with. But the Frenchman couldn\u2019t hold it, merely pushing it on to Toby Aldeweireld, off whom the ball trickled in. Salah had kept believing and received his reward. PC<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah celebrates after his determination had forced an own goal by Tottenham\u2019s Toby Alderweireld. Photograph: Paul Childs\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Keeping his cool to set up glory in Madrid<\/p>\n

By no means Mohamed Salah\u2019s best goal for Liverpool but arguably his most important. It was a glorious day in Madrid \u2013 bright, warm and electrified by excitement \u2013 but there were nerves and a deep sense of dread. The 2019 Champions League final felt like Liverpool\u2019s moment, especially given the agony of missing out on that season\u2019s Premier League title despite amassing a frankly ludicrous 97 points, but what if it wasn\u2019t? I certainly felt that anxiety upon entering the Metropolitano and it didn\u2019t lessen by much during the rousing pre-match singing that emanated from our end.<\/p>\n

Then, with only 23 seconds played, Liverpool were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Salah and the anxiety grew further given he is pretty rubbish at taking penalties (he has missed 10 during his time at Liverpool). But this time there was no messing: he sprinted to the ball and banged it past Hugo Lloris. One-nil, nerves calmed and, following Divock Origi\u2019s goal three minutes from time, a sixth European Cup<\/a> in the bag.<\/p>\n

It was our moment after all. The celebrations that followed will live with me for a lifetime \u2013 utterly euphoric doesn\u2019t do it justice \u2013 and for that I\u2019ll forever be grateful to J\u00fcrgen Klopp and every one of his players, no one more than Salah. Not for the first or last time in his Liverpool career, he took responsibility when it mattered most and delivered. A big player for the big occasion, in this case the biggest. Thanks for the memories, Mo, and in particular, thanks for Madrid. SN<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Turning doubters to believers<\/p>\n

Of the 257 goals Mo Salah has scored for Liverpool, this might be the most famous. Here he was spearheading J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s team in their pomp when the club\u2019s fans \u2013 still scarred after the 97-point second-placed finish in 2018-19 \u2013 were still yet to fully believe the 30-year title wait could really be coming to an end. Yes, even with a 13-point lead over Manchester City and a record that read: won 20, drawn 1, lost 0.<\/p>\n

A 14th-minute goal by Virgil Van Dijk turned Anfield into a raucous pit but, despite wave after wave of attacks, Manchester United weathered the storm and gave Liverpool a scare in the last quarter of the game<\/a>. As it rolled into stoppage time Alisson scooped up the ball and spotted Salah in a position just shy of the halfway line that you could fairly describe as \u201cUh-Oh This Spells Trouble\u201d. The Brazilian adopted his sidewinder stance and volleyed the ball with just the right amount of fade for Salah to run on to. And here\u2019s where it gets interesting.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian has to wait for the ball to bounce, allowing the speed demon Daniel James to catch up with him. But the scene then resembles a computer game, with James looking for all the world like a digitised glitching defender trying but failing to shift the immovable force of the scruffy-haired forward who calmly holds him off before slotting past David de Gea.<\/p>\n

Salah\u2019s top comes off, his six-pack ripples, and photographers have the shot to define the season. The matador waving his red cape as fans dare sing \u201cwe\u2019re gonna win the league\u201d for the first time in 2019-20. The great release seemed almost prescient. Covid soon silenced the rest of Liverpool\u2019s triumphant campaign. GB<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Weaving magic against Manchester City<\/p>\n

\u201cNice. Oh that\u2019s lovely. He\u2019s done another one. Too tight now. Can\u2019t score from there. How has he scored from there?\u201d The internal monologue that unfolded as Mohamed Salah weaved his way past four Manchester City players to ignite Anfield in October 2021<\/a> confirmed two things. One, a job as a professional broadcaster is not in the offing. Two, no matter how often you witnessed the source of 257 Liverpool goals, Salah\u2019s capacity to astonish was unrivalled at his peak.<\/p>\n

There are many goals in the Salah catalogue that rival the City effort for intricacy, individual brilliance and cold precision. But it is the angle of the finish and the occasion that sets this one apart. Salah has his back to goal when he receives Curtis Jones\u2019s pass down the inside right channel. He has already scanned the picture and, genius that he is, solved the puzzle. First he rolls Jo\u00e3o Cancelo, then rolls his studs over the ball to drag it around Bernardo Silva\u2019s lunging challenge, ignoring Phil Foden\u2019s push in the back as he does so.<\/p>\n

Into the area he goes. Aymeric Laporte receives similar treatment to Silva. Mesmerised by Salah\u2019s left foot, he is lured one way and then the other. There is still a goalkeeper of Ederson\u2019s pedigree to beat, and from a ridiculously tight angle, but Salah somehow finds a way with an allegedly weaker right foot.<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s Liverpool versus Pep Guardiola\u2019s Manchester City was the rivalry that elevated the Premier League to a level that hasn\u2019t been seen since. Salah decorated it in unforgettable fashion. AH<\/p>\n

Salah ignites Anfield with his thrilling goal against Manchester City in October 2021. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole\/Offside\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mo Salah\u2019s first match at Old Trafford for Liverpool was a nightmare. He was dominated by Ashley Young to such an extent that, a few days later, the Manchester United left-back felt the need to go on Instagram and confirm that Salah wasn\u2019t in his pocket. Liverpool lost 2-1<\/a> and WhoScored gave Salah a rating of 5.7, the lowest of the 28 players involved in the match.<\/p>\n

Salah\u2019s performance that day proved to be the reddest of herrings. He was a slow-burning nemesis who tormented United more than any player in Liverpool\u2019s history. Perhaps any player in history full stop: we think Salah\u2019s 16 league goals against United, one more than John Ritchie and Jimmy Greaves, are a record. There are worse legacies for a Liverpool player to leave.<\/p>\n

Salah\u2019s personality allowed him to avoid the excessive emotion of matches against United \u2013 and indeed Everton, who felt his sting nine times themselves. In derby games Salah was cold, clinical, even contemptuous. He particularly enjoyed himself at Old Trafford, where he emerged from Young\u2019s pocket to score 10 goals \u2013 including the first hat-trick by a Liverpool player away to United<\/a> since 1936 \u2013 between 2021 and 2024.<\/p>\n

The last of those came in a ruthless 3-0 victory<\/a> at the start of last season, when Salah also made both Luis D\u00edaz\u2019s goals. All three were masterpieces of ruthlessness, economy; each had a kind of knowing superiority. That game was the catalyst for Salah\u2019s last hurrah, a season in which he drove Liverpool to an unexpected 20th title \u2013 the same as United \u2013 and was arguably the best player in the world. His numbers that season, 29 goals and 18 assists in the Premier League, will widen the eyes of future generations.<\/p>\n

This season has been unedifying at times<\/a>. But when the dust settles and the news agenda moves on, the memory of Salah\u2019s 2024-25 will burn far brighter. Not least because it involved another slaying of Liverpool\u2019s greatest rivals. RS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was surely the worst moment of Mohamed Salah\u2019s Liverpool career, yet the reaction said everything about his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-660113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}