Liverpool fans won’t be short of happy Mohamed Salah memories to recount when the Egyptian superstar waves goodbye to Anfield this summer.
In his nine-year spell, the 33-year-old provided the Reds with no fewer than 255 moments of joy, elation and delight to help steer the club to major silverware at home and abroad.
Here, Dominic King lists his five favourite Salah moments.
1. Penalty v Tottenham; Champions League final, Madrid June 1, 2019
He’d waited 12 months for this moment. A year earlier in Kiev, Salah left a Champions League final in tears. Sergio Ramos hurled him to the floor and dislocated his shoulder, an incident that left Jurgen Klopp incandescent. Real Madrid ran out 3-1 winners.
But there was a chance for redemption. On the morning of the final in Madrid, Salah searched for an image of him and Ramos to remember the hurt and use it as motivation to not feel that way again. It explained the venom in the spot-kick he ripped past Hugo Lloris.
2. Hat-trick v Manchester United; Premier League. Old Trafford, October 24, 2021
There was a time when it was said Salah couldn’t score against Liverpool’s most bitter foes but then he got one and the dam burst spectacularly, his crowning moment coming in front of the disbelieving Stretford End.
Salah had set up Naby Keita’s opening goal but then went into overdrive, scoring twice before half-time then completing his treble after the break following a glorious pass from Jordan Henderson. It was the first hat-trick by an opposition player at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.
3. Goal v Manchester City; Premier League, Anfield, October 3, 2021
At the height of the Jurgen Klopp – Pep Guardiola rivalry, this was arguably the greatest game Liverpool and Manchester City produced: breathless and relentless, the quality of football as good as anything we have seen on these shores.
Salah was at the heart of it and his goal invited a comparison with Lionel Messi, for the close control, the body movement, the skill and the bamboozling of three defenders before a right footed drive that raced past Ederson. This was the Egyptian at his peak.
4. Goal v Manchester City; Champions League quarter-final, April 10, 2018
Liverpool had blown Manchester City away in the first leg, winning 3-0, but Jurgen Klopp was anxious about an incoming storm. His fears were well placed. The hosts threw everything they had to try and redress the balance and led 1-0 at half-time.
In the frenzy, however, Salah’s coolness came to the fore. When the ball broke loose to him inside the area, he played the game at his own speed and clipped a left-footed finish over Ederson and stood, arms out-stretched in front of the away end, appearing to ask: ‘are you not entertained?’
5. Goal v Arsenal; Premier League. Anfield, August 27, 2017
The first Premier League goal he scored at Anfield looked like a scene from a computer game. It was also a moment that made you think that Liverpool had signed someone a little bit special for £36.9million, given the speed, composure and certainty he displayed.
From an Arsenal corner, Liverpool turned defence into attack and Salah ran from his own half, three blue shirts chasing haplessly like leaden-footed policemen. The closer he got to The Kop, you knew he was going to score. He did. And he would keep on doing it.
