Difficult end will soon be forgotten as Salah takes his seat among Liverpool legends

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It was perhaps as well that Mohamed Salah’s last game before the announcement of his departure from Liverpool was the home game against Galatasaray. The season began with Salah standing alone before the Kop after scoring in the 4‑2 win against Bournemouth, as they sang their tribute to Jota and he wiped away the tears with his cuff.

There was a sense at times that this was a post-Salah side that somehow still featured Salah.His departure has felt inevitable from the moment he stopped in the mixed zone after Liverpool’s 3‑3 draw at Leeds in December and, clearly smarting at repeatedly being left out, spoke of how he had “no relationship” with Arne Slot. Henderson, a relentless worker and more tactically astute than he is often given credit for, could then fill the space, not quite doing the running for the entire flank, but certainly allowing Salah and Alexander-Arnold to exploit their abilities to the full.Salah was part of a thrilling forward trio with Sadio Mané and Robert Firmino.

His most important goal was probably the penalty that set Liverpool on their way to victory in the 2019 Champions League final, but his greatest goal, amid a lot of competition, was probably his solo run in the 2-2 draw at home against Manchester City in October 2021.He played a huge part too in Liverpool’s two Premier League title successes: 19 goals in 2019‑20 and 29 last season, when Slot gave him the freedom to operate high on the right and, with Alexander‑Arnold behind him and Dominik Szoboszlai plus Gravenberch compensation for his lack of tracking. Soon, the anticlimactic final season will be forgotten, and he will be remembered as the club legend he is, wriggling in form the right, setting the ball on to his left and arcing it at pace into the corner – just as he did last Wednesday.