With Mohamed Salah calling time on his Liverpool career this summer, what better time to look back at some of his greatest moments and achievements during his Reds career? Here are the top five.
5. Puskas award winner 2018
Liverpool 1-1 Everton (December 2017)
It was a work of art as Salah, with his back to goal, fought off Cuco Martina, who fell to the ground, only to leave Idrissa Gueye on stilts before his curled effort made its way into the top left corner.
Jordan Pickford was helpless as the snow on Merseyside brought out the magic from Salah.
The irony was that, despite winning the Puskas award for the goal, many Liverpool fans would argue that some of Salah’s other goals that season were far better; nonetheless, it is a timeless achievement that deserves to be celebrated.
4. Salah’s rocket defies title curse
Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea (April 2019)
Almost six years on from Steven Gerrard’s notorious slip that sent through Demba Ba to crush Liverpool’s title hopes in the 2013/14 season, Chelsea were very much hoping to do something similar.
The Reds were already under pressure after Man City defeated Crystal Palace earlier in the day to overtake Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
After half time, Sadio Mane’s header eased the nerves as Liverpool went 1-0 up, but it was Salah’s goal that put the cherry on top.
After receiving a cross-field pass, Salah eased past Emerson and made the onrushing Jorginho look like a ghost after his thumping effort from 25 yards swerved past Kepa to send the Kop into delirium.
Comfortably his best goal in a Liverpool shirt, the quality of finish added insult to injury for Salah’s former employers, Chelsea, who deemed him surplus to requirements in 2015.
3. “Now you’re gonna believe us”
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United (January 2020)
Despite an early Virgil van Dijk header that gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead over their bitter rivals, United were slowly growing into the game in the second half.
A corner to Man United in stoppage time brought on a brief period of nerves from the home side, who should have been out of sight.
However, courtesy of some quick thinking from Alisson, his pinpoint pass sent Salah through on goal and after wrestling with speedster Daniel James, he slid his effort past David De Gea to secure all three points for Liverpool.
Not only were they 30 points clear of their rivals, but boasted a 16-point lead at the top of the table, and it was from this moment that Anfield truly believed their 30-year wait for a league title was over.
2. Honours even as Salah shines in title clash
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City (October 2021)
Salah’s relentless consistency during his time at Liverpool forced rival fans into some uncomfortable conversations as he began to shake up the status quo.
Comparisons with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, among others, began to surface as a rejuvenated Liverpool looked to fight on all four fronts in the 2021/22 season.
Of course, only Man City stood in the way on the domestic front, and their clash at Anfield was one of the greatest in terms of footballing quality.
With the score at 1-1, Salah went on an adventurous run in the final third, leaving Bernardo Silva with the taste of grass before getting on the wrong side of Aymeric Laporte and producing a brilliant finish on his right foot across the face of goal.
It was a mesmerising showcase of upper-body strength and footwork, and the type of solo goal that was arguably missing from his never-ending catalogue at Liverpool.
Before moving on to his number one moment, take a look at some honourable mentions that were very unlucky not to be included in this list.
Honourable mentions:
“He fires a bow, now give Mo his dough”
Southampton 2-3 Liverpool (November 2024)
Arne Slot’s side were put to the sword for large parts of this game, on a blustery evening on the south coast, but Liverpool produced an incredible comeback win, courtesy of a Salah brace.
Trailing 2-1, Salah produced a sublime first touch finish past a flailing Alex McCarthy, applying the deftest of touches from Ryan Gravenberch’s ball over the top to level the score.
As the Reds dialled up the pressure, a careless handball from Yuki Sugawara led to a penalty in the 83rd minute, which Salah, of course, converted in emphatic fashion.
His wild celebrations with the travelling Kop further fuelled demands to the owners that their ‘Egyptian King’ was deserving of a new contract, as stated in their not-so-subtle banners.
Fastest hat-trick in Champions League history
Rangers 1-7 Liverpool (October 2022)
Liverpool were already in cruise control when the Egyptian was introduced, with the Reds boasting a 3-1 lead at the Ibrox.
What happened next, though, was unexpected to say the least.
Salah’s first goal was a toe-poke from close range, his second was through some tidy footwork and caressing the ball past Alan McGregor on the edge of the box, and his third was a trademark finish.
Cutting in on his left foot and curling it past the goalkeeper, it was nothing out of the ordinary for Salah – yet he had extraordinarily broken the record for the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history – in six minutes and twelve seconds.
Hattrick at playground Old Trafford
Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool (October 2021)
It was no secret that England’s most trophy-laden rivalry was becoming rather one-sided in favour of Liverpool, but what was missing in over seven years was a victory at Old Trafford.
But after a run of only three wins in eight matches in all competitions, it was surely Liverpool’s best chance against Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s doomed reign at Man United.
Already 2-0 up inside 15 minutes, Salah combined with Naby Keita once again for his first goal of the game, a tap-in at the near post. In acres of space, he fired past De Gea to double his tally.
An outstanding trivela from Jordan Henderson put Salah through on goal, who ran onto the ball before producing an audacious chip to complete his hat-trick.
Salah’s hat-trick at Old Trafford is a feat matched only by Ronaldo Nazario this century, a cherry on top of the 13 goals he has recorded against United, his favourite opponents to date.
United players and fans alike will breathe a sigh of relief that they will no longer be haunted by the Egyptian King, but both will know that they have a long way to go in eclipsing what Salah has achieved in a Liverpool shirt.