Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah created a bit of Champions League history on Wednesday night when he scored in the club’s 2-0 win over Bologna at Anfield.
Salah has established himself as a Liverpool legend for his achievements and impact over the past seven years, made all the more impressive by a forgettable spell at Chelsea early in his career.
The Egyptian icon scored 44 goals in all competitions directly for Liverpool in 2017/18 and has never dropped below 20 goals in a single season. That remarkable run doesn’t look set to end in 2024/25, already six into the new campaign.
In total, Salah has scored 217 Liverpool goals, fifth on the club’s all-time list and within striking distance of Billy Liddell (228), fourth, and Gordon Hodgson (241), third.
But it was his 45th Champions League goal that headlined against Bologna.
Salah doubled Liverpool’s lead against their Serie A rivals to ensure victory and maximum points during the first two days of the new competition.
The 45 Champions League goals are the most by any player in Africa, beating the previous record of 44 held by Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba. Former Barcelona, ​​Inter and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o is next on the list with 30 goals in his illustrious career, while Salah’s former Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane has scored 27 goals in the competition.
Salah has scored 41 of his Champions League goals for Liverpool, with the others for Rome and Basel. Drogba scored 36 for Chelsea, five for Marseille and three for Galatasaray.
The 32-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season and has yet to agree a new deal with Liverpool, will be given the chance to add to his tally when the Reds take on RB Leipzig at the end of this month.