Video: Ben Doak upstages Mohamed Salah with 'brilliant' goal for Middlesbrough tonight
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Liverpool secured qualification for the last-16 of the Champions League with a fairly routine win over Lille on Tuesday night.
The Reds needed to beat the French side and hope that Barcelona could not get the victory against Benfica to top the League Phase table.
Benfica couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain and lost a see-saw 5-4 classic with Barca. But Liverpool came through to register a 2-1 win at Anfield and safely qualify for the knockout rounds nevertheless.
As he often is on these Champions League nights, Mohamed Salah was in the goals for Liverpool.
The Egyptian ran through to dink home a lovely finish and end a run of three games without a goal for the Reds.
But however good Salah’s finish was, it turns out that the 32-year-old was not the Liverpool player to score the best goal of the evening on Tuesday. On-loan forward Ben Doak curled home a beauty for Middlesbrough as they beat West Brom 2-0.
Ben Doak curls home a beauty
The second Liverpool goal of the night was also a decent one on Tuesday. Harvey Elliott’s shot may have taken a deflection, but it was a good hit all the same.
But after watching what Doak did against West Brom, it’s the 19-year-old who must take the crown for goal of the evening.
With seven minutes left on the clock and Boro on the break, the ball found itself at the feet of Doak, who curled a stunner beyond goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
“Ben Doak takes a little touch inside, whips it, ooof!” raves Clinton Morrison on Sky Sports.
“It ends up in the top bins, brilliant finish.”
A third goal of the season for Doak, who got another 90 minutes in the tank for his loan club.
What’s going on with Doak?
Of course, there’s a little difference between scoring in the Champions League and the Championship, but this was yet another great moment for Doak.
The 19-year-old has had a top season out with Boro leading to all sorts of suggestions that he could leave on a permanent basis this January.
But after Liverpool rejected Premier League bids for Doak, it now looks clear that he’ll be staying at Boro for the remainder of the campaign.
Whether it’s for the Reds or someone else, though, moments like this make it clear that the Scottish wonderkid will be playing in the top division next season.
