Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah etched his name in the annals of football history with his second-half strike in Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Serie A club Bologna on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old became Africa’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League with his 45th goal in the competition, surpassing the previous record held by former Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba, who managed 44 in the competition.
Salah also became the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive Champions League/European Cup matches at Anfield, having previously netted against Ajax, Rangers, Napoli, and Real Madrid.
Liverpool battle to a win at Anfield 🏹#UCL pic.twitter.com/vtay3S8xX6
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 2, 2024
He also became the third player to score in five consecutive home games for a Premier League club in the competition’s history, joining Thierry Henry (7) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (6), who both did it with Arsenal and Manchester United, respectively.
The Reds, who saw off AC Milan on opening day, were in action in matchday two against another Italian club, Bologna.
5 – Mohamed Salah is the third player to score in five consecutive UEFA Champions League home games for a Premier League side, after Thierry Henry with Arsenal (7) and Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United (6). Kopite.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 2, 2024
Arne Slot’s men, however, wasted no time as Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister put them in front in the 11th minute with a simple tap-in following a sublime cross from Salah, who registered his first goal involvement in the Champions League this season.
The visitors came close to drawing level after some defensive frailties from the Reds, but Swiss forward Dan Ndoye’s deflected effort cannoned off the woodwork before going out of play.
The second half kicked off with Bologna pushing for an equalizer, which they were denied in the 54th minute by the gloves of Alisson Becker as the Brazilian goalkeeper was up to the task against Riccardo Orsolini.
The Italians were made to rue their missed chances as Salah finally got on the scoresheet to open his account in the competition this season. After being played in by Dominik Szoboszlai, the Egypt international used the run of Trent Alexander-Arnold as a decoy before cutting into the box and unleashing an unstoppable curler past Łukasz Skorupski and into the far corner.
Salah’s performance took his season tally to six goals and five assists in nine matches in all competitions as the Liverpool No. 11 continues to dazzle in the early stages of this campaign.
🌟#UCL pic.twitter.com/8lJWRvMr8P
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 2, 2024
Liverpool sealed all available points to make it two wins in as many games in the Champions League as they currently are fifth in the standings. They will head to Germany next in the competition to take on RB Leipzig on October 23.
