It was impossible for Mohamed Salah to leave Liverpool in such a sad way.
When Luis Diaz was fouled by Sven Botmann midway through the game, the Egyptian should have scored ahead of Africa Cup of Nations qualification. In the first half, Salah lost a battle of wits with Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka but saved a shot from the left flank.
The ater fell short. But just before half-time, Salah converted to open the scoring after latching on to Darwin Nunez’s cross to score his 150th Premier League goal for Liverpool.
This makes him the fifth player to achieve this feat. When the opportunity came again, right winger Cody Gakpo curled a lovely ball with the outside of his left foot to score.
I think there are people who don’t think Salah will remain Liverpool’s most important player. Wataru Endo also left the show and his performance was worthy of the standing ovation that greeted his departure after another 15 minutes of hard work and impact.Liverpool will miss the pair. The challenge now is to make sure they are ready to play when they return.
The return of the duo cannot overshadow the milestoneThe sight of Roberto Firmino and Fabinho returning to Anfield for the first time since leaving for Saudi Arabia in the summer warmed hearts ahead of the chilly evening.
However, Brazil international Alisson Becker stayed at Liverpool and reached a milestone, making his 250th appearance for the club.
Of course, against Newcastle last August, goalkeeper Miguel Almiron did what I consider the best thing in the Premier League when he headed into the net. No such heroism was needed here, but it will happen. I feel bad if I have to quit twice. Despite this, Liverpool boast the stingiest defense in the top flight this season, conceding just 18 goals in 20 games.
And so their dominance over Newcastle continues, with 117 more points taken against the Toon Army than any other Premier League club this season.And they are 16 points clear of the team that finished four points behind last season. Even now, when I think about it, it seems like such a long time ago.
