Substitute Mo Salah has scored the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history as Liverpool thrashed Rangers 7-1 to complete a double over the beleaguered Scots.
The record-breaking treble came off the back of only nine touches from the Egyptian during his 22 minutes on the field. His recent goal-kicking struggles were a distant memory when the ball hit the back of the net in the 75th, 80th, and 81st minutes.
“Salah getting back to form and having fun is a big, big factor,” said Craig Foster on Stan Sport.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had cantered to a 2-0 win over the same opposition at Anfield last Tuesday but there was initially more fight about Rangers this time and they took the lead in the 17th minute through Scott Arfield.
Last season’s finalists responded seven minutes later when Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino headed in from a corner before grabbing a second in the 55th minute as the visitors’ superior quality came to the fore.
Striker Darwin Nunez added a third with a fine finish in the 66th minute before Egyptian Salah grabbed three goals in six minutes and 12 seconds with Harvey Elliott notching as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side crumbled.
“The goals we scored were exceptional. It’s a night where things worked out for us. It changes the mood definitely, and that’s good,” Reds manager Juergen Klopp said.
“We all know who is coming on Sunday [Manchester City]. That will be different, but it’s better to go in with the feeling from tonight.”
Liverpool are now three points behind Group A leaders Napoli but six clear of Ajax Amsterdam with two fixtures remaining, while Rangers are bottom without a point.
Bayern Munich and Napoli maintained their perfect record to reach the last 16, along with Belgian surprise team Club Brugge.
Leon Goretzka scored a brace as five-time winners Bayern triumphed 4-2 at Czech champions Viktoria Plzen, and Napoli beat Ajax in the south of Italy with the same 4-2 scoreline as both made it four wins out of four.
Brugge battled to a 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid with 10 men to progress for the first time in 10 attempts as the trio join title holders Real Madrid and Manchester City who had booked their last-16 berths on Tuesday.
In Spain, Robert Lewandowski scored in added time to keep Barcelona’s faint hopes of progression alive.
Lewandowski’s last-gasp header helped the Catalan club salvage a 3-3 draw with Inter Milan after the visitors had taken a 3-2 lead with a goal from Robin Gosens in the 89th.
A loss would have meant elimination for Barca for a second consecutive season in the group stage. Third-place Barcelona have four points, three behind Inter in the fight for second in Group C behind Bayern.
“It’s disappointing,” said Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets.
“It is a difficult group but we had to do better after all the signings we made. It’s not settled yet, but now it’s very complicated as we don’t depend on ourselves anymore.”
A Son Heung-min brace and Harry Kane’s first Champions League goal in nearly three years helped Tottenham take control of Group D but only after a dramatic 3-2 comeback win at home to 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt.
Elsewhere, FC Porto won 3-0 at Bayer Leverkusen to go second in Group B behind Brugge while Marseille were two-nil winners at Sporting Lisbon to trail Spurs by a point.
© AAP
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