It was never in doubt, really. With Galatasaray arriving at Anfield 1-0 up from the first leg — a stunning Victor Osimhen volley having been the difference in Turkey — Liverpool needed a response. They got four goals and a moment of history.
Mohamed Salah's 50th Champions League goal, netted in front of the Kop during a flowing, dominant second-half performance, announced itself with all the quiet confidence of a man who has done this before. Many, many times before.
The 50 Club
Only six other players have reached 50 goals in the Champions League. The names are what you'd expect: Cristiano Ronaldo (140), Lionel Messi (129), Robert Lewandowski (100), Karim Benzema (90), Raúl (71) and Thomas Müller (53).
Salah is now part of that company. That is the correct sentence and it deserves to be read again slowly.
He has scored those 50 goals across nine Champions League campaigns, for two clubs, in six different countries. He has scored in finals and group stages and knockout thrillers. He scored on a broken shoulder in the 2018 final against Real Madrid — the goal that preceded his forced exit — and last night he scored his 50th in front of the home end on a cool March evening, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The Performance
Liverpool were excellent. After a nervy opening — Arne Slot's side clearly wary of another Turkish sucker punch — they took control around the half-hour mark and never relinquished it. Dominik Szoboszlai was named player of the match for a performance of relentless box-to-box energy, and the Hungarian midfielder created or scored in two of the four goals.
The back four, marshalled by Virgil van Dijk on what might be one of his last European campaigns at Anfield, were imperious. Galatasaray's threats were snuffed out with the casual efficiency of a team that has been doing this for years and knows exactly how to manage a tie.
The Exit Question
Salah's contract expires this summer. Liverpool insist talks are ongoing. Salah has not publicly committed to staying. In a conversation with reporters after the final whistle last night, he said only that he wanted to focus on the Champions League and that everything else could wait.
That is smart. That is Salah. But somewhere, in boardrooms and agents' offices and perhaps in Riyadh, the noise around his future is getting louder.
If this is his last Champions League campaign at Anfield, he is determined to make it count. PSG in the quarter-finals. Kvaratskhelia against Trent Alexander-Arnold. Salah on the biggest stage he has ever loved.
Fifty goals. More to come. Long live the King.
