Mohamed Salah makes history at Anfield and completes feat Lionel Messi failed three times
Yesterday at 04:40 PM
Mohamed Salah in the Champions League at Anfield is a match made in heaven.
And he’s once again carved out a unique place in the Liverpool history books thanks to his goal in the Reds’ 2-0 win against Bologna.
The goal, which put Liverpool 2-0 up after Alexis Mac Allister’s 11th-minute opener, was textbook Salah as he cut inside from the right and beautifully curled the ball into the top left-hand corner past Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
That means he’s now the first Liverpool player in Champions League history to have scored in five consecutive home games.
Last season he netted on Merseyside against Ajax, Rangers, Napoli and Real Madrid – the team who would end their involvement in the competition.
And his strike against Bologna makes it a famous five.
He goes clear of club legend Steven Gerrard who managed four in a row on two occasions – in 2008 and 2009.
It’s a feat that is not as simple as it sounds.
Not even the great Lionel Messi was able to achieve it in his 163 Champions League appearances for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
And that’s despite scoring 129 times and winning the competition on four occasions (2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015).
He managed to score in four consecutive home matches on three occasions – twice for Barcelona (2017 and 2020) and once spanning his time with the Spanish giants and Paris Saint Germain (2021)
Messi’s on-pitch rival Cristiano Ronaldo, though, netted in seven consecutive home games, his streak ending in 2018.
Longest home scoring runs in the Champions League
1. Eusebio (Benfica) – 9 in a row (1965)
2. Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich) – 8 in a row (1974)
3= Thierry Henry (Arsenal) – 7 in a row (2002)
3= Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan) – 7 in a row (2005)
3= Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 7 in a row (2018)
3= Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 7 in a row (2016)
3= Jacques Foix (OGC Nice) – 7 in a row (1959)
He sits on that number alongside Thierry Henry, Robert Lewandowski, Andriy Shevchenko, and Jacque Foix.
Salah, though, will have to go some way to beat the record.
That was set by Portugal icon Eusebio with Benfica in 1965.
He scored in nine consecutive home games in the European Cup.
Eusebio is one match ahead of Germany legend Gerd Muller, who managed eight in a row ending in 1974.
Liverpool’s home fixtures in the group phase of the competition come against Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid and Lille.
