He’s at it again.
Mohamed Salah broke Crystal Palace hearts with a late strike to clinch a dramatic victory for Liverpool at Selhurst Park.
After a contest packed with incidents, excitement and controversy, it ended with that familiar sight of the Egyptian forward wheeling away in celebration.
Luka Milivojevic’s 13th-minute penalty was cancelled out by Sadio Mane’s equaliser before Salah expertly poked home the winner with six minutes remaining.
It wasn’t an easy finish. After a cross from the right was hit back across goal by Andrew Robertson, Salah controlled the ball instantly with his left to elude the scrambling Mamadou Sakho before poking home clinically with his right.
The goal was Salah’s 29th of a simply tremendous individual Premier League campaign, putting him five clear of Tottenham’s Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot.
It also equalled quite an impressive Premier League record. It was the 21st league game in which Salah has scored this season, putting him level with Robin van Persie during the 2012/13 season and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007/08.
Of course, Salah still has six games left to surpass them.
21 – Mohamed Salah has now scored in the joint-most Premier League games in a single 38-match season (also Robin van Persie 2012-13 and Cristiano Ronaldo 2007-08). Solid. #CRYLIV
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 31, 2018
Salah’s haul of 29 is also the joint-most for an African player in a single league season, also being managed by former Chelsea frontman Didier Drogba.
Most pertinently for Liverpool fans, though, the win takes them above Manchester United into second place in the table. They are now ten points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea, thus tightening their grip on the Champions League places.
FT: Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool 😍
MO SALAH WINNER YOU ABSOLUTE KING! 👑 pic.twitter.com/hF4437IQdR
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) March 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/FootballVines/status/980073081577332741
In all the chaos that has transpired during this early kick, Mo Salah showed all the composure to sit Mamadou Sakho down, take a touch and finish.
37 goals this season. THIRTY SEVEN
— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) March 31, 2018
Mo Salah has equalled Didier Drogba's record as the highest scoring African player in the Premier League in a single season.
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) March 31, 2018
