MOHAMED SALAH EQUALS CLUB RECORD ON THE NIGHT HE ENDS GOAL DROUGHT
Mohamed Salah equals Jamie Carragher’s record as Liverpool crush Qarabag 6-0 to secure an automatic Champions League Last 16 spot.
Mohamed Salah finally snapped his Liverpool goal drought, helping the Reds smash Qarabag 6-0 on Wednesday night at Anfield. The win sent Liverpool straight into the Champions League last 16 and took a bit of heat off Arne Slot. Liverpool looked in control from the start—Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz both scored in the first half, setting the tone against the Azerbaijani underdogs. After halftime, Salah got the third on what was his 80th Champions League appearance for the club, matching the Liverpool record. That goal was a big deal for him—it ended an eight-game streak without scoring, his first since November 1.
During that dry spell, Salah even lost his spot in the starting lineup and publicly complained he'd been "thrown under the bus" by the club. Things got tense between him and Slot. But before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations in December, Salah and the manager patched things up. Slot will hope this goal gets Salah firing again.
Hugo Ekitike added a fourth, then Mac Allister and Federico Chiesa finished the job, wrapping up Liverpool’s biggest win in any competition since 2023. Thanks to this, Liverpool skip the play-off round and get to host the second leg in the last 16—never a bad thing.
Slot seemed pretty happy after the game. “I’m very pleased. We know we can still improve in both boxes, but it was a very good performance,” he said. “It’s always important to get the early goals to get the crowd on our side. We know we can do even better.”
Mac Allister pointed out the bonus: “We skip two playoff games, which is important in a long season like this. In the Champions League, we’ve been better than the Premier League. We need to see the positives.”
Even after getting thrashed, Qarabag still made the play-offs, finishing 22nd.
Getting to the knockout stages was huge for Slot, who’s had to field some tough questions about Liverpool’s rocky run lately. After last weekend’s 3-2 loss at Bournemouth—Liverpool’s fifth straight game without a win in the league—Slot defended the team, saying a trophy would still make this a successful season.
But honestly, Liverpool fans are losing patience. The team sits 14 points behind Arsenal, despite winning the title last year and splashing out about £450 million on new signings.
Slot admitted the noise around the club is “fair” and said only something special in the next few months will quiet the criticism. The Champions League and FA Cup are still in play, so there’s hope.
On the night, Virgil van Dijk was Liverpool’s only healthy centre-back, so Slot threw Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch into the defence. Then, just three minutes in, Jeremie Frimpong—who’s barely stayed fit all season—limped off. But Liverpool didn’t blink. They just kept going.
Problems with defending set-pieces led Slot to sack coach Aaron Briggs in December. Lewis Mahoney, who took over, drew up a corner routine that worked perfectly in the 15th minute. Ekitike flicked on Dominik Szoboszlai’s inswinger; Van Dijk couldn’t finish it, but the ball dropped for Mac Allister, who nodded it in.
Wirtz made it 2-0 six minutes later, firing home his first Champions League goal for Liverpool after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen.
Five minutes into the second half, Salah bent a beautiful free-kick into the far corner, with Szoboszlai’s back-heel setting him up. Ekitike then broke away and finished calmly for the fourth. Mac Allister tapped in the fifth, and Chiesa, who hadn’t scored since September, rounded things off in stoppage time.
MOHAMED SALAH SET TO LEAVE LIVERPOOL: FENERBAHCE PREPARE STUNNING THREE-YEAR CONTRACT OFFER
After a decade at Anfield, Mohamed Salah's next move is the talk of football. Will he join Messi or stay in European leagues?
Mohamed Salah looks set to leave Liverpool this summer, and it sounds like he wants to stay in Europe. One of the hottest rumours right now is about Fenerbahçe; they’re ready to offer him a three-year deal worth around £52 million. That’s a huge pay packet, but probably not as big as what he’d get in Saudi Arabia.
Salah’s been on Merseyside for almost a decade, and it’s hard to overstate just how much he’s done for Liverpool. Since joining in 2017 with Jurgen Klopp in charge, he’s picked up two Premier League titles, a Champions League medal, an FA Cup, and two League Cups. Pretty impressive, honestly. But this season hasn’t gone his way, and new boss Arne Slot dropped him for a few games after his form dipped. When Salah announced in March that he’d be leaving, people started up with transfer rumours right away.
In recent years, clubs from the Saudi Pro League have shown considerable interest. Last year, Al Ittihad went as far as slapping a £150 million offer on the table, but Liverpool turned it down.
Now the story goes that Salah wants to stay in Europe even though he’d pocket way more in Saudi Arabia. Reports out of Egypt claim Fenerbahce, managed by Jose Mourinho’s old club, have already sat down with Salah’s agent. They apparently laid out their big plans, offering £17.3 million a year with a three-year contract, and they want to build the team around him to end their league title drought stretching back to 2014.
There’s also talk of Real Madrid getting involved. Still, their transfer policy usually steers clear of handing massive contracts to players pushing the end of their careers, even superstars like Salah. Clubs in Italy, like Roma, Juventus, and Inter Milan, are keeping tabs on him too. And just to make things more interesting, someone floated the idea of Salah joining up with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in the MLS, though the league's salary cap throws a wrench into that.
At this point, everybody’s watching Salah’s next move; the only certainty is that he won’t be short of offers when he finally says goodbye to Liverpool.
WHY IS LIVERPOOL HESITATING TO HIRE XABI ALONSO DESPITE OVERWHELMING FAN SUPPORT?
Liverpool has contacted Real Madrid to investigate Xabi Alonso’s tenure, as pressure grows on current manager Arne Slot at Anfield.
Liverpool have reached out to Real Madrid to ask about Xabi Alonso, but honestly, there’s some debate going on behind the scenes. People have been talking about Alonso stepping in at Anfield, especially since Arne Slot’s season hasn’t gone over well. Fans let out some boos after that 1-1 draw with Chelsea, and the mood is pretty tense. Even though Slot led Liverpool to a league title last year, quite a few supporters seem fed up with him and would rather see Alonso take charge.
But Spanish outlet AS says Liverpool have contacted Real Madrid to get the inside scoop on what happened during Alonso’s time at the club. It sounds like the decision-makers at Liverpool are starting to feel unsure about him, and they might actually stick with Slot for another season.
Alonso landed the Real Madrid job last summer after doing wonders at Bayer Leverkusen. Still, just six months in, Madrid let him go, reportedly because the locker room was falling apart. Liverpool’s relationship with Real Madrid is strong, and they apparently want some honest feedback – kind of like asking for a reference from a past employer, which isn’t unusual.
Liverpool’s spot in next year’s Champions League is almost locked in, but with two games left, it’s not guaranteed yet. When asked about the boos, Slot admitted he has some work to do to win fans over.
He said, “Not this season. Fans won’t change their minds now. But if we get the summer we’re planning, I’m convinced we’ll be a different team next season. Results, style, everything. It’s not always easy, though. Sometimes you know what needs fixing, but getting what you want isn’t so simple. This season, it’s been pretty clear what we’re missing. We’re trying to solve it, but one issue is simply having enough fit players. Still, our guys show every week in the second half that they’re giving everything they’ve got.”
Must Read
