Mo Salah finally back to his best as Liverpool get their record-breaking star back

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He stood and took the acclaim of the Kop, beaming his broadest smile of the season, pointing to the Liverpool crest on his jersey. Liverpool did not just power their way into the last eight of the Champions League , they got their Mohamed Salah back.

They got their record-breaking, incomparable, unstoppable Mohamed Salah back. On one memorable night, his landmark return to vintage form - topped by the goal he celebrated in front of the Kop - transformed the mood at a club that had been heading towards the doldrums.

The last time Liverpool players left this arena, it was to the soundtrack of dissent and dissatisfaction. Seventy-two hours later, they entered it to the din of hope and expectation.

In terms of commitment, there was an appropriate response, although whether the ferocity of the home side’s approach warranted the welter of Galatasaray casualties was a moot point. Predictably, the play-acting riled Liverpool staff and supporters but it should have been a cue for encouragement.

If players are time-wasting from the first whistle, it shows they lack the confidence to actually try and add to their advantage. Football-wise, they do not back themselves, even against a side they have already beaten twice this season and has been recently plagued by defensive uncertainty.

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It meant the equation for Liverpool was simple. Match commitment with composure and the tie was there for the taking.

And the first truly composed piece of play brought the breakthrough, Alexis Mac Allister measuring his corner-kick nicely and Dominik Szoboszlai meeting the pass with a hit that was familiar in its sweetness, unfamiliar in that it flew from his left boot.

In the Premier League , there is no better striker of a ball and a more customary right-footer soon brought a very decent save out of Ugurcan Cakir, who also foiled a Salah chip with his fingertips.

But restored to a midfield position that he should never be moved from, Szoboszlai was unplayable and drew the foul from Ismail Jakobs that should have sent Liverpool into the break with an overall advantage.

Alas, Salah opted for a poor man’s Panenka from the penalty spot and Cakir booted it away. Szoboszlai’s look of exasperation said it all.

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Had you not actually watched the first 50 minutes, there might have been a temptation to wonder if that could have been a watershed moment in the tie.

But such was Galatasaray’s dismally unambitious approach, it took a huge leap of imagination to see them causing the home side any serious trouble.

And anyone with that imagination was soon put right, Salah’s spectacular redemption coming via a beautiful assist for Hugo Ekitike and a volley that Cakir could only parry to the feet of Ryan Gravenberch, who calmly converted for number three.

And then, for good measure, Salah curled in his 50th Champions League goal and took the acclaim from the Kop. Salah had run them ragged.

This was billed as a night when the team from Istanbul, arriving with a one-goal lead, might ruffle Liverpool feathers - instead, it turned into a Turkey shoot.

In Paris St Germain, a far sterner test arrives in the quarter-finals, but this was just the lift Slot, Liverpool and, most significantly, Salah needed.

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