Mohamed Salah came off the bench and scored the fastest hat-trick of Champions League history as he played Liverpool to an impressive 7-1 win over Rangers on Wednesday. The result saw Liverpool eliminate the Scottish team from the tournament.
Rangers scored first with Scott Arfield, but Roberto Firmino came back with a superbly-placed header before adding another just before the hour time. Darwin Nunez doubled Liverpool’s lead after 66 minutes, by slapping a shot over the goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
Salah was substituted for Nunez after 68 minutes, and scored a lightning-quick hat-trick, which took just two minutes between the goals he scored his first and third. Harvey Elliott added a seventh goal for Liverpool in the 87th minute to complete the night with a win for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Wednesday’s results mean Rangers are still without a win, can’t finish among the top two places in Group A, and thus advance to the knockout stage. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men could still be eligible as a team for Europa League should they finish third, which is ahead of Ajax.
“We were just on the wrong side of things and having us meet at the wrong time isn’t cool [for opposition,” Klopp said.
“All our goals were fantastic. Mo Salah was on and is absolutely dazzling and is able to interpret the position effectively. It’s a night when everything works out for us.
“In the end, we had to be clear in the final third. This clearly worked All the goals were fantastic, the way we played as well as how we set them up, and then completed the game.”
Mohamed Salah started on the bench against Rangers on Wednesday. Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images
In a cauldron like atmosphere in Glasgow the newly-formed Liverpool team struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, but fell behind when Arfield made a run from the outside of the box just 17 minutes into the game to lift the ceiling off Ibrox.
The lead lasted just eight minutes when Firmino continued to impress on the ball with a header near the post to equalize the score after an angle.
Liverpool were far more impressive team in the second half , and was able to draw back the lead just 10 minutes before the break Firmino was able to convert Joe Gomez’s low, precise cross.
With Rangers in pursuit of the game, an excellent goal from Nunez was enough to put the game beyond the hosts. Salah who began the match as a substitute was able to finish the goal at a narrow angle. Salah scored his second goal on the hour mark with an unplanned goal that slipped past an out of position McGregor.
Salah’s third goal, which he scored on an 81 minute, was like his usual style. He cut into the left side before curling the ball using his left foot in the far corner.
Elliott was able to add to the suffering of the home side by scoring a seventh-minute winner which sealed the victory. It will mean that Liverpool are in second place in the group A and require just 1 point in their last two games to ensure of a place in finals.
“It is extremely difficult to describe, and difficult to process,” Rangers boss Van Bronckhorst stated. “I am still trying to process the game, particularly the second half.
“The first part and the last half-hour is night as well as day. the way we played, and that different level of play, that is too much for the Champions League. I’m not able to describe it at the moment.”
