Mohamed Salah Liverpool 2018-19

Salah matches Torres record as he hits Premier League half-century

Mohamed Salah has reached 50 Premier League goals spread across spells at Chelsea and Liverpool, with only three players hitting that landmark in fewer games.

The Egyptian forward made his way to another notable landmark during a meeting with Crystal Palace .

Having seen Jurgen Klopp’s side head into the interval trailing on home soil, Salah burst them out of the blocks in the second 45 at Anfield.

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His clever flicked finish restored parity within 60 seconds of the restart.

A topsy-turvy encounter continued to swing wildly between one side and the other after that effort, with Roberto Firmino edging the Reds in front only to see James Tomkins level.

Salah was to be the man to restore Liverpool’s advantage, having been given a considerable helping hand from Julian Speroni.

The Palace goalkeeper endured a nightmare moment as he deflected a James Milner cross towards his own goal.

With the ball heading over the line, Salah pounced to touch it into the net.

He has now recorded 50 goals in the English top-flight in just 72 appearances.

Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Ruud van Nistelrooy are all iconic frontmen of the Premier League era.

Salah is not even a striker, so to be in such company is quite an achievement.

His race to a half-century has also seen him reach that mark in the same number of games as former Reds star Fernando Torres – another out-and-out forward.

To further put Salah’s remarkable return into perspective, he has proved quicker to 50 than Manchester City star Sergio Aguero (81 games) and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry (83 games).

He was not the match-winner, though, for Liverpool against Palace.

After seeing Milner sent off in the final minute of normal time against the Eagles, Sadio Mane went on to grab a fourth of the afternoon for the Reds.

A nervy finish was then set up when Max Meyer netted a third for the visitors, but Klopp’s men held on to pull seven points clear at the summit – with Manchester City not in action until Sunday.

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