XtraTime Web Desk: The majestic show of Mohamed Salah continues, as he produced yet another breathtaking performance against his former club AS Roma. His two outstanding goals and two brilliant assists helped Liverpool to a thumping 5-2 lead in the first leg Champions League semifinal.
However, a late Roma rally as Liverpool’s defence went to sleep saw Edin Dzeko and Diego Perotti scored two late goals to give the Italians a glimmer of hope going into the second leg.
The two sides will meet again at the Stadio Olimpico in eight days’ time.
When Salah signed for Liverpool in June of 2017, Roma supporters were understandably sorry to see him go.
Thanks to individual moments of magic and no shortage of goals, the Egyptian became a firm fan favorite during his time in the Italian capital.
Fast forward to Anfield, little less than a year later, Roma were catching a glimpse of their former star for the first time and, now, they truly were sorry he ever left.
After a closely contested opening 35 minutes, it was a case of who would blink first.
Mohamed Salah produced two world-class finishes and set up goals for Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino to lead Liverpool to a 5-2 win over former club Roma, leaving the English team in sight of the Champions League final.
Salah’s display was as exquisite as Roma’s defending was naive, with Liverpool scoring all of its goals in a breathtaking 33-minute spell either side of halftime amid a cauldron of noise at Anfield.
The Italian side came back from a 4-1 first-leg loss to Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and consolation goals in the final nine minutes from Edin Dzeko and Diego Perotti has given them a similar deficit to overcome.
In the latest virtuoso performance of his stunning first season at Liverpool, Salah curled a shot into the top corner in the 36th minute and doubled the lead in the 45th with a dinked finish that is fast becoming his trademark. He is now on 43 goals for the season in all competitions with potentially five games left.
The Egypt forward wasn’t finished there, taking advantage of Roma’s high defensive line to provide crosses for Mane and Firmino to score almost identical goals in the 56th and 61st minutes, respectively.
Firmino glanced home a header from James Millner’s corner in the 69th to leave Roma’s players on the floor — literally in the case of its distressed goalkeeper, Alisson.
Liverpool moved onto 38 goals for this season’s competition — 11 more than any other team — but cannot begin preparing for the final in Kiev on May 26 quite yet.
Dzeko chested down a long pass to make it 5-1 in the 81st and when Milner handled a shot from Radja Nainggolan, Perotti converted the penalty in the 89th.
Bayern Munich plays Real Madrid in the other semifinal, with the first leg in Germany tonight.