Salah's 50th Champions League goal helps Liverpool progress to PSG rematch
MIGHTY MO: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their side's fourth goal of the game. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.
FIRST the good news - Mo Salah's 50th Champions League goal helped to smooth Liverpool's passage through to the quarter-finals in quite some style.
Now the bad news. Arne Slot's quest to end his difficult second season with more silverware to add to last year's Premier League crown will have to navigate a way past defending Champions Paris St Germain in the last eight.
That is a mouth-watering battle to be fought out next month and, of course, they remain in the FA Cup but for now Liverpool can savour the latest edition to the burgeoning collection of memorable European nights at Anfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike joined in the goal-scoring fun and Salah could even afford to miss a first-half penalty as Galatasaray were put to the sword in one of the most lop-sided knock-out ties you are likely to see this season.
On paper, this second leg tie should have been hard. Galatasaray had already beaten Liverpool twice this season, but they were a shadow of themselves and were fortunate not to ship at least half a dozen goals on a night distinctly short of Turkish delight.
Perhaps it was football karma. The visitors' time-wasting in defence of their single-goal first-leg advantage began predictably early. Inside the first 10 minutes, Victor Osimhen took a theatrical fall and stayed down after Ibrahima Konate's knee made minimal contact with his already heavily-strapped right wrist.
The forward soon made a miraculous recovery to jump to his feet in order to remonstrate with the Liverpool players who suggested he might have been milking the injury.
It proved an immediate test of the authority of Paweł Raczkowski, the Pole who stepped in to replace compatriot Szymon Marciniak at late notice after the 2022 World Cup final referee was injured in the warm-up.
Osimhen wasn't alone in going to ground given minimal contact as the visitors sought to break-up play at every opportunity in a successful attempt to prevent Liverpool from playing with any kind of rhythm.
It took Slot's men 25 minutes to finally find a way through as the opener arrived like so many of their goals this season, from a set-piece. Galatasaray paid the price for switching-off at a training ground corner routine from Alexis MacAllister.
The Argentinian's low curling centre was met with a sublime first-time finish from Szoboszlai, whose left-foot effort from a central position 15 yards out flew into the bottom corner for the Hungarian's fifth Champions League goal of the campaign.
Liverpool should have been well clear by the break but couldn't turn their growing ascendency into more first-half goals.
Salah ought to have doubled the advantage but the Liverpool forward saw his weak attempted chip saved by Ugurcan Cakir after he was put through on goal by a mis-placed backward header from skipper Abdulkerim Bardakci Florian Wirtz had fierce close-range effort deflected over the bar and MacAllister headed a Virgil van Dijk knockback against the bar from inside the six-yard box as Galatasaray were again found wanting at another corner.
The midfielder's effort wouldn't have counted due to a minimal push on Cakir, who then had to dive full length to his left to keep out another sweetly-struck Szoboszlai effort.
Salah spurned a gift-wrapped opportunity to put Liverpool ahead on aggregate in first-half-stoppage-time when his woeful penalty, a mis-hit Panenka down the middle, struck the legs of Cakir following Ismail Jakobs' clumsy trip on Szoboszlai just inside the area.
Osimhen succumbed to his dodgy wrist to be replaced at the interval by Leroy Sane but the former Manchester City forward had barely had a touch of the ball before Liverpool put the tie to bed with two goals in as many minutes at the outset of the second-half.
Ekitike put the hosts ahead in the tie for the first time six minutes after the break as he swept home his 17th goal of the season at the far post as Salah made amends for his penalty miss with an inviting low cross which the Frenchman gratefully accepted.
Before Galatasaray could recover from that body blow, they were floored by Liverpool's third from Gravenberch, who followed-up to score from a dozen yards with his first Champions League goal for five years after Cakir beat out a fizzing Salah drive.
Only a marginal offside against Jeremie Frimpong prevented the hosts from finding the net for a third when Wilfried Singo sliced the full-back's low cross into his own net as Liverpool threatened to run riot.
Salah's landmark goal arrived just after the hour as he swapped passes with Wirtz before curling his side's fourth with a stunning finish from the edge of the area.
There was still time for Liverpool's man of the moment to hit the bar before the 33-year-old was withdrawn to a richly-deserved standing ovation to mark his memorable half century.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 7; Frimpong 7 (Jones 67, 6), Konate 7, van Dijk 7, Kerkez 7; Szoboszlai 8 (,) Gravenberch 8 (Nyoni 89, 6), MacAllister 8; Salah 8 (Gakpo 74, 6), Ekitike 8 (Chiesa 89, 6), Wirtz 8 (Ngumoha 89, 6).
Galatasaray (4-2-3-1): Cakir 6; Boey 5 (Lang 46, 4) (Icardi 80, 5), Singo 4, Bardakci 6 (Elmali 73, 5), Jakobs 3; Torreira 4 (Akgun 60, 6), Lemina 4; Sallai 4, Sara 4, Yilmaz 3; Osimhen 4 (Sane 46, 4).
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland).
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