Just as with last season, Mohamed Salah stepped up during Liverpool's Champions League group stage decider, producing when it mattered most.
The Egyptian scored the only goal as the Reds beat Napoli in a straight shootout for a berth in the knockouts last year, while he was on the scoresheet again on Tuesday night as Jurgen Klopp's side won 2-0 in Austria to beat RB Salzburg.
100 seconds after Naby Keita's opener, Salah's second-half goal from an acute angle killed off the tie and saw Liverpool through safely as Group E winners.
Remarkably, Salah has now been directly involved in 27 Champions League goals for Liverpool (19 goals and eight assists) since joining the Reds in 2017. In that same space of time, only Ballon d'Or holder Lionel Messi can boast more goal contributions with 28.
Speaking after the game, Klopp called Salah's cute finish after rounding the keeper 'sensational'.
He said, via the Liverpool Echo: "How do I explain it? Thank God I don't have to! It was for sure the most difficult situation he had tonight.
“He played really well but didn't score in the situations we expect him to score, staying on track and making such a decisive but difficult finish says probably much more about him than all the other goals he scored.
“He stayed concentrated, believed in the next moment and it was a very, very good goal. A sensational finish."
Love analysing goals and particularly impressed with Salah’s mental strength. To filter out 3 easier missed chances and still have the courage and belief to score the next one....👏👏👏 https://t.co/GFUknnbt0X
— michael owen (@themichaelowen) December 10, 2019
BT Sport pundits and former Liverpool duo Michael Owen and Peter Crouch were apparently also blown away by Salah's Salzburg strike, with the former calling it 'ridiculous'.
After also scoring in the Reds 3-0 win over Bournemouth at the weekend, Salah moved onto 63 Premier League goals in 100 games - the fourth-highest tally of any player in their first century of appearances.
Tuesday night's sweet finish puts Salah onto 82 goals in all competitions for Liverpool - the same as Luis Suarez, though the Uruguayan needed eight games more.
Source: 90min
