Mohamed Salah was the last man standing in front of the Kop, applauding them as they responded in kind. Or those who were left did, anyway, with Anfield’s most iconic stand half-empty. This was not how it was supposed to end, and yet, perhaps it was inevitable. There may have been memories of his Champions League nights with Liverpool flashing before his eyes: the evisceration of Roma in the 2018 semi-final, the epic comeback against Barcelona he watched while injured, the penalty against Tottenham in the final. Goals against Manchester City, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter.
Though not Paris Saint-Germain. Salah’s fifth and last appearance against them in a Liverpool shirt was as a replacement. PSG’s twin 2-0 wins meant there will be no valedictory victory in Budapest in May, no chance to bow out as Kevin Keegan and Graeme Souness did as a European champion. For Salah, and Andy Robertson, who also joined in 2017, their Liverpool careers in Europe can be split into two halves: they reached three Champions League finals in the first five seasons, no semi-final in the last four. Salah was an unused substitute in Paris last week, an energetic 12th man who was summoned earlier than Arne Slot expected on Tuesday.
