It was the type of strike that The Kop has seen so many times in recent years, with Mohamed Salah cutting on to his left foot and striking the top corner with a blistering strike that flew past the rival keeper.
With his 48th match-winning goal in the Premier League, the Egyptian once again secured three points for Liverpool; just five players have more.
Salah, 32, may not be the prolific dribbler he once was, but he is fitter than ever – he finished first in Liverpool’s pre-season fitness tests – and more capable than ever of giving the big moments.
A week after scoring the equaliser at Arsenal, Salah produced the key moment as Liverpool established themselves as serious title challengers under Arne Slot.
The top of the table is where this club belongs. Salah’s social media posts had the caption, “Nothing less.”
Mo Salah passed Robbie Fowler in the Premier League goalscoring statistics in the 2-1 comeback win over Brighton on Saturday, thanks to a blistering top corner strike.
Mo Salah passed Robbie Fowler in the Premier League goalscoring statistics in the 2-1 comeback win over Brighton on Saturday, thanks to a blistering top corner strike.
He is fitter than ever, still having a dramatic impact on games, and essential to Liverpool’s title push.
Allowing him to go for Saudi Arabia for free this summer is an unimaginable prospect.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot praised his team’s perseverance after a comeback win.
Brighton had done admirably to keep Salah quiet, but there was an unavoidable sense of impending doom when he began to gallop at Pervis Estupinan, who had previously barely missed a beat.
The figures are outrageous. Salah has contributed to 12 (63%) of Liverpool’s 19 league goals this season, the highest share of any club in the Premier League.
Since his Liverpool debut in 2017, no one has come close to Salah’s 235 Premier League goals, with Harry Kane next on 169. In Europe’s top five leagues, only Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe have more. He is a generational great.
With his 164th Premier League goal on Saturday, Salah eclipsed the man they dubbed ‘God’ at Anfield, Robbie Fowler (in 106 less games), to take eighth place on the all-time goalscorers list, 11 goals behind Thierry Henry and 13 behind Frank Lampard. There is every chance he will be among the top five by the conclusion of the season.
‘We should not lose sight of how vast these records are. He keeps knocking them down. “He’ll always be a legend,” remarked Joe Gomez.
On Merseyside, Salah has grown from a 25-year-old who understood his potential to a man in his early thirties who knows he will be remembered as one of Liverpool’s greatest players.
With 55 goals since the start of last season, his omission from the Ballon d’Or shortlist has not gone ignored.
For all the speculation about a move to Saudi Arabia, Salah is still at the top of his game, and the notion of Liverpool letting him leave for free next summer, when his contract ends, is unimaginable.
He has contributed 55 goals since the start of last season. Should he have been considered for the Ballon d’Or?
‘No matter what happens, I will never forget the feeling of scoring at Anfield,’ Salah wrote on Sunday.
A reminder that his future is uncertain, as well as a remembrance of the joy he has brought.
Salah scored just three goals in the final 11 games of the Klopp era last season due to fitness issues caused by an injury sustained while playing for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations.
There were doubts back then, but Saturday shown that his sheer talent to win matches remains unrivaled, and if Slot’s Liverpool are to fight for the title, a fit and firing Salah will be an important part of that.
