Mohamed Salah became the joint-highest scoring African in the UEFA Champions League but it did not lead to victory as Liverpool lost 5-2 to Read Madrid in the Round of 16 first leg on Tuesday night.
The game was a repeat of last season’s final which Los Blancos won 1-0 in Paris thanks to a strike from Vinicius Junior. This time, the Reds took charge early on with Salah feeding Darwin Nunez for the opener inside the first five minutes.
Ten minutes later, the Egyptian superstar doubled his side’s lead by profiting off Thibaut Courtois’ howler. It was his 44th Champions League goal, equaling Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba’s record of 44 goals.
Salah also surpassed Liverpool great Steven Gerrard as the club’s highest scorer in European competitions and has now scored six goals in his last six Champions League matches.
44 – Mohamed Salah has scored 44 goals in the UEFA Champions League, joint-highest tally for an African player in the competition's history (level with Didier Drogba). Pharaoh. #LFCREAL pic.twitter.com/RYQRtnAXub
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 21, 2023
Real Madrid began their comeback with Vinicius netting a brace – one sublime effort and one howler from Alisson – to tie the game at 2-2 going into halftime.
Brazilian defender Eder Militao made it 3-2 two minutes after the restart, before 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema recorded a brace to complete the onslaught.
The result marked the first time Liverpool conceded four goals in an European match at Anfield and they became the first team in Champions League history to take a 2-0 lead and end up losing by a three-goal margin.
The return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in three weeks time will be somewhat of an herculean task for Jurgen Klopp’s team to overturn the three goals deficit. They will now turn their attention to the Premier League, where they will make a short trip to London to face Crystal Palace at the Selhurst Park.
