The late goal that Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scored in their 5-1 Europa League demolition of Toulouse in Group E established yet another scoring record.
Unsurprisingly, the Egypt international was chosen as one of the substitutes for the Coupe de France holders, who entered the match only two points behind Jurgen Klopp’s team.
As part of the attacking trident of the hosts, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, and Harvey Elliott each struck the net in a furious first half that included a header from Wataru Endo.
After Jota’s opening goal, Thijs Dallinga had momentarily given Toulouse hope. However, Les Violets’ reprieve was fleeting, as Liverpool led 3-1 at the half thanks to goals from Nunez and Endo.
After the break, both Gabriel Suazo and Nunez missed horrendous opportunities with the goal gaping, but Nunez’s error was insignificant because Ryan Gravenberch scored the next goal to earn his place on the scoreboard.
Salah, who replaced Gravenberch in the 70th minute, completed a five-star performance with a powerful effort off the crossbar as extra time was running out, adding another chapter to football legend.
With his last-minute goal on Thursday night, Mohamed Salah became the player with the most goals for Liverpool in European competitions—43—against any other English team.
With his 42nd European goal against LASK Linz on matchday one, the former Chelsea player had previously tied Arsenal star Thierry Henry. Now, the Frenchman has been left behind by Salah.
From his first 13 games of the current season, the Egyptian has already scored nine goals and provided four assists. He has also scored in five of his six home games in 2023–24, with the exception of a blank against Union SG.
Before Thursday’s crushing of Toulouse, Salah, 31, contributed a goal to a Premier League game for the 13th consecutive home game with his brace in a 2-0 Merseyside derby victory over Everton. He was only surpassed in that regard by Henry (17) and Alan Shearer (18).
Currently ranked fifth in the Reds’ all-time scoring lists, Salah needs 34 more goals to pass Billy Liddell, who scored 228 goals for Liverpool, with 195 goals and 83 assists from 317 games.
In addition to Salah’s individual accomplishment, Liverpool equaled a 33-year-old club record on Thursday night, as Klopp’s team began the new season with seven wins from seven home games across all competitions.
The last time the Reds had experienced a run like this was during the 1990–91 season, when they won their first seven games at Anfield until Manchester City held them to a 2-2 tie.
Liverpool, who now lead Group E with five points over Toulouse and Union SG, can guarantee a position in the Europa League round of 16 if they defeat Les Violets once more in two weeks and Union SG loses against Linz.
Sunday’s Premier League trip to Merseyside by Nottingham Forest is Klopp’s team’s next game at Anfield.