Mohamed Salah could hardly believe it when he came off the bench to put Liverpool ahead on the final day of the Premier League season at Anfield – only to find Manchester City had already completed their comeback.

The Egyptian started as a substitute in what was a must-watch game for the Reds. They had fallen behind against Wolves but equalized before half-time. Looking for a crucial winning goal, Salah was called up by Jurgen Klopp and came with the goods in front of the Kop with just six minutes to go.

Manchester City had problems at the Ethiad, losing 2-0 to Aston Villa after 70 minutes. The last Salah knew before coming was that title rivals Liverpool were behind – and three points for Liverpool would see them claim the title on the final day of the season.

Salah’s reaction to his 84th-minute strike suggested he thought his goal might well have delivered the trophy to Anfield – only to quickly learn that Villa had fallen behind. Stephen Warnock told the BBC: “We look at Mo Salah and say he is looking for individual accolades and he loves being the main man, but you can see today quite clearly that the team meant more to him. , the result meant everything.

“The noise around the stadium was absolutely deafening as the goals came in against City and Liverpool must have thought they were back. But you can’t hear the other side – what reaction do you give around the pitch to leave” Players know City win 3-2? You can not. Mohamed Salah when he scored he ran away as if he had scored the winning goal in the Premier League. That was the feeling we had.”

It was not to be, as those in Manchester’s blue half scored three times in five second-half minutes to turn the tide in front of their own fans. Had they done anything other than win, Salah’s strike would have been enough to seal the title for Liverpool.

Andy Robertson then added a third, but it wasn’t enough for the Merseyside side. Salah’s strike ensured he was the co-recipient of the Golden Boot. He shared the honor with Heung-min Son, who scored two of Tottenham’s five goals at Norwich City.

Jurgen Klopp said of his team’s effort: “These boys have played a crazy season. The opposition scored an early goal and we had to play them, it reflects our season. If you only win the games in which you fly, it’s goodbye after 30 games The season is over, one more point behind , what other people say, I don’t care. I am very proud of this group, this club and the way we have come out of the pandemic with the atmosphere that we have created, absolutely exceptional. It’s not the end, just the result of the season.”