While efforts to mark this weekend’s coronation may not have not been welcomed at Anfield, Liverpool supporters did not waste a chance to salute their own king on another landmark day.
Just 12 minutes after Reds fans had roundly booed the national anthem to show their disdain for the British monarchy, they rose to pay tribute to another significant strike from a figure whose popularity in these parts will never be up for debate.
This was a ninth consecutive Anfield appearance in which Mohamed Salah had scored, a run that no other player in the club’s history had matched.
But it was another record that will have meant the most to the man known as The Egyptian King: the matching of Steven Gerrard’s 186-goal haul in a Liverpool jersey.
The two now share fifth place in Liverpool’s list of all-time top scorers, with Salah of course certain to go on and surpass that figure in comfortable fashion.
MORE: List of Top 10 Liverpool top scorers all-time
And it is the speed with which he has reached that figure as well as the scale of his overall contributions that mean a previously unthinkable debate over whose Anfield legacy is greater now has genuine merit.
When Salah moved to Liverpool in 2017, it could not have been imagined that he would come anywhere near Gerrard.
The Huyton-born midfielder’s 17 years in the first team saw him win every single trophy available bar the Premier League and lay legitimate claim to being the main reason behind many of those successes.
A scorer in FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Champions League finals, he also had a tendency to produce iconic moments en route — a certain goal against Olympiacos comes to mind.
What’s more, he did this in some of the weaker sides Liverpool have put out in their history, dragging lesser players to remarkable heights through sheer force of will.
MORE: Can Liverpool make top four in 2022/23?
Of course, that fact perhaps underlines the biggest difference between these two players in that Salah has been part of teams that have been inarguably worthy of the trophies they have collected, including the Premier League title that eluded Gerrard.
Yet, while it could be said that makes Gerrard's achievements all the more impressive, it actually also serves to burnish Salah’s standing.
MORE: All the trophies won by Liverpool
Even in one of Liverpool’s best-ever sides, the 30-year-old has somehow managed to consistently establish himself as the standout player.
And his level has not diminished in difficult times, either, as his 30-goal haul in 2022/23 attests.
Whether these contributions are enough to see Salah overtake Gerrard in terms of standing among supporters is difficult to judge, and perhaps the pecking order will only truly be established upon Salah's eventual departure (and maybe with a few more winner’s medals secured).
But it says plenty that comparisons between these two Anfield greats do not seem as ludicrous as they once might have.
