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Football

Liverpool beat Rangers 7-1, Mo Salah scores fastest hattrick

Mo Salah scored the quickest hat trick in Champions League history as Liverpool defeated Rangers 7-1 at Ibrox on Wednesday.

MOThe Egyptian came in in the second half with his team ahead 3-1 and proceeded to hit a remarkable triple in six minutes and 12 seconds to create a new competition record.

Bafetimbi Gomis previously held the record from 2011, when he completed his hat trick in eight minutes in a 7-1 win for Lyon over Dinamo Zagreb.

Salah, on the other hand, obliterated that record with his spectacular accomplishment, walking away with the match ball in Glasgow and sealing a confidence-boosting win for Liverpool, who are in a great position to advance to the round of 16.

Salah now has 38 Champions League goals for a single Premier League team, breaking the record held by Didier Drogba [Chelsea] and Sergio Aguero [Manchester City].

Salah had been left out of the starting eleven, but he single-handedly increased the tally from 3-1 to 6-1 in a couple of minutes, first poking home from an angle, then halting the ball to beat two defenders before planting it into the net, and last sweeping home a signature finish from the outside of the box. For the first time since 2012, all three goals were aided by the same player, Diogo Jota.

“The goals we scored were outstanding.” he stated. “It was a night when everything fell into place for us. It definitely alters the mood, which is a positive thing. We all know who will be arriving on Sunday. That will be different, but it’s best to go in with a positive attitude from tonight.”

With Manchester City coming up in the Premier League on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp thinks the win will be a watershed moment for his squad after such an underwhelming start to the season. After Rangers had taken the lead in the first half, Roberto Firmino looked like the hero, scoring two and setting up another for Darwin Nunez. But with three well taken goals, Salah assured he would dominate the headlines.

With two games remaining, Liverpool is second in Group A with nine points. Napoli has a 12-point advantage and progressed to the round of 16 after defeating Ajax 4-2 earlier Wednesday. The Amsterdam club has three points, while the hapless Rangers have none. The Rangers were startled after dominating the early going. Only goalkeeper Allan McGregor’s heroics saved the Scottish powerhouse from a severe setback in a 2-0 loss at Anfield a week ago. However, in a substantially better performance, it put the home fans to sleep after grabbing the lead after 17 minutes.

moHis total goal tally for the Reds is now 164 in 267 appearances, making him the club’s eighth-highest scorer ever, pulling him further away from Michael Owen (158) and within eight of Kenny Dalglish (172).

It was a welcome comeback from the 30-year-old, who now has eight goals for the season but has failed to make an impact as Liverpool has struggled.

“They punished us with the attack they have,” Rangers coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst told reporters. “In the last 25 minutes we weren’t in the game, not with our heads, not with the decisions we made. Against a team like Liverpool, you get punished.”

Kajal S

Kajal S

kajal

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