Mohamed Salah has tied a Champions League mark achieved by Barcelona legend Samuel Eto’o by scoring against Real Madrid on Tuesday at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
With the Spaniards leading 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio in the 27th and 36th minute, the Egypt international pulled one back in the 51st minute.
Diogo Jota found his way through the La Liga side’s defence before seeing his shot drop in the path of Salah, who took a touch before firing past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from six yards out.
VAR was called upon to check for a possible offside, although the goal stood and that gave the Anfield giants an important away goal.
The goal ensured that the two-time African Player of the Year winner continued a remarkable run – finding the net on 27 occasions for Jurgen Klopp’s side in all competitions in the 2020-21 campaign.
Salah has now also scored 10 goals in the Champions League knockout phase, just like the iconic Cameroonian did during his active days with Barcelona and Inter Milan.
🌍 African top scorers in the Champions League knockout stages:
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 6, 2021
⚽️1⃣4⃣ Didier Drogba 🇨🇮
⚽️1⃣2⃣ Sadio Mané 🇸🇳
⚽️1⃣0⃣ Samuel Eto'o 🇨🇲
⚽️1⃣0⃣ Mohamed Salah 🇪🇬
⚽️0⃣7⃣ Emmanuel Adebayor 🇹🇬
⚽️0⃣5⃣ Michael Essien 🇬🇭
⚽️0⃣4⃣ Seydou Keita 🇲🇱
⚽️0⃣4⃣ Hakim Ziyech 🇲🇦#UCL pic.twitter.com/kK9DzT9cFf
The 28-year-old is two goals shy away from Senegal’s Sadio Mane, while he is closing in on Didier Drogba’s record as the highest-scoring African in the European elite club tournament's knock-out stages.
The Cote d’Ivoire and Chelsea icon boasts of 14 goals – a feat achieved during his trophy-laden career at Stamford Bridge.
Also, the Liverpool star's effort against Zinedine Zidane’s men meant he has now found the net in four successive games in the Champions League for the first time.
Furthermore, since he made his debut for the English Premier League outfit, only Cristiano Ronaldo (140), Lionel Messi (156) and Robert Lewandowski (177) have scored more goals than the Egyptian (121) across all competitions within the top five European leagues.
Following their 3-1 away defeat, Klopp’s team would be aiming to turn the table when Real Madrid visit England for the return leg on April 14.
Before that, they welcome Dean Smith’s Aston Villa in an English elite division outing.
The reigning league kings occupy the seventh position on the log, having garnered 49 points from 30 games played so far.