LONDON – Egypt’s Mohamed Salah expressed his delight at setting a “special” record for Liverpool after scoring twice in a wide 7-0 victory against Manchester United at Anfield.
Salah has become Liverpool’s all-time top scorer in the English Premier League.
The 30-year-old leapfrogged Robbie Fowler’s previous record of 128 goals, having already surpassed previous club legends Steven Gerrard (120) and Michael Owen (118).
United has lost 7-0 on three previous occasions – the last time coming in 1931 against Wolverhampton. The score also eclipsed Liverpool’s previous best victory against United, which was a 7-1 win in 1895.
Having endured a disappointing spell with Chelsea before excelling in Italy with Roma, few would have expected Salah to have the impact that he has, but the forward was determined to make history when he arrived at Anfield.
Tweeting about the achievement, he wrote: “An extraordinary day for all Liverpool fans. I’m honoured to keep making history with this great club.”
Salah told Sky Sports: “It’s very special, I can’t lie. This record was in my mind since I first came here.
“In my first season, in my mind, I was always chasing the record so, to make it against United with that result was unbelievable.
Despite recording their biggest ever win over fierce rivals United, Salah said that the Reds must stay grounded after they moved into fifth place – three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the battle for Champions League qualification.
“It’s very special to win the game like that but at the same time, we don’t want to go into the next game with overconfidence,” he added.
“We just need to be humble, just play and win games. We’re not in the position that we want to be, but hopefully this gives us a good push and we can keep winning.”
This season, the Egypt international has struggled in front of goal, amid a broader dip in form for Jurgen Klopp’s side – but Salah extended his season league tally to 11 with the winning double at Anfield.
“I have some good records at Liverpool. To be fair, as long as we achieve something with the team that’s the most important thing for me,” Mo Salah said to the Liverpool Echo.
His explosive, inaugural 2017/18 campaign on Merseyside remains his most fruitful – scoring 32 goals to claim the Golden Boot.
That tally represents an all-time record return in a 38-game Premier League season and he has continued to convert in excess of 19 goals in every full season since.
Only eight of Salah’s 129 goals have been fired from outside the box, while the majority has come from the right-of-centre area, between the six- and 18-yard lines – when he cuts inside from his favoured right flank.
“Salah achieved something really, really special – we should not forget that just because we are used to him scoring a lot of goals,” said the Reds boss.
That sentiment was echoed by captain Jordan Henderson, who also hailed Salah for his dedication.
“It’s a fantastic day for everyone. The performance level, every player was top quality. You could see the energy levels were back,” Henderson said.
“We have shown recently we are on the path back. It’s a big win but we need to concentrate on the next game.
“I’m really happy for Salah. He dedicates his life to football. He is the first one in and the first one out.”
Klopp could hardly stop smiling as he saluted the delirious Liverpool fans at a rocking Anfield, and who could blame him.
“A freak result and a top performance,” the German told reporters after Liverpool’s biggest ever win over United courtesy of braces for Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez and a late effort by Roberto Firmino.
“I don’t think the second half could start any better with the two early goals and then from that moment we were flying and it was really difficult to play against us.”
Liverpool have now won four of their last five league games after a run of three defeats in four and, while retrieving a 5-2 first-leg defeat by Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 might be beyond them, they look to be back on track.
“It was one of the best performances for a long, long time,” Klopp added. “The main difference is that we now have pretty much all the players available.
“But we have to make these results count with the result of the next game. That’s what the plan is.”
Klopp paid tribute to Salah who became Liverpool’s record scorer in the Premier League with his double on Sunday taking him to 129, ahead of Robbie Fowler from 61 fewer games.
“It’s really, really special and we should not forget that just because we are used to him scoring a lot of goals,” Klopp said of the Egyptian. “He should be really proud of that.”
Liverpool go to bottom side Bournemouth next weekend having beaten the south-coast club 9-0 at Anfield earlier this season.
They are now just three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand and are on a roll.
“A few months ago everyone thought it was a good moment to play Liverpool — you can’t say it publicly but everyone thought it — because they felt we were struggling a lot, but now it is less of a good moment, we look more like ourselves,” said Klopp.
“It is important that everyone knows we are here and we are still alive.”
