Mohamed Salah scores first Liverpool goal since November, aiding reconciliation after spat

Mohamed Salah’s first goal since November arrived with emphatic timing, capping a restorative week for the Egypt star and sealing Liverpool’s direct passage to the Champions League round of 16. Salah curled in a 50th-minute free kick to make it 3-0 in a 6-0 rout of Qarabag at Anfield on Wednesday, a result that locked Arne Slot’s side into third place in the new 36-team league phase.

The margin mattered. Under UEFA’s revamped Champions League format, finishing in the top eight secures a bye to the last 16 and avoids the two-legged playoffs that can derail a season’s momentum. Liverpool fell into that trap a year ago: despite topping the league-phase standings, they drew Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, lost on penalties and watched PSG lift the trophy for the first time. This year’s smooth progression is a welcome corrective.

“It’s great to be in the top eight again,” said midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who scored twice against Qarabag. “But then I think back to last season when we finished top and then got Paris in the next round. It’s going to be very difficult, but we’ve done well to get there and it was a good night for us.”

The night’s headline belonged to Salah. The winger, 33, has been at the center of Liverpool’s season on and off the pitch. After being dropped for three straight matches in early December, he told reporters he’d been “thrown under the bus,” casting fresh doubt on a relationship that has defined Anfield since 2017. He departed for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with his club future swirling and returned earlier this month still searching for rhythm and a goal.

Slot has responded with continuity — three consecutive starts back in the XI — and Salah has responded with output. His set-piece strike against Qarabag, whipped over the wall and inside the far post, was his first since Nov. 1 against Aston Villa and his clearest statement yet that the conversation can return to football. The celebration was understated; the message was not.

While Liverpool’s six-goal haul spoke to attacking breadth, the victory’s broader significance was structural. The league-phase format compresses risk and reward across eight fixtures. Slip into the 9–24 band, and you face a playoff that can cost legs and focus; finish in the top eight, and you buy rest, recovery and the time to prepare for a two-legged tie. Slot, who has juggled domestic demands with European travel in his first season, now gains a critical scheduling advantage as the calendar tightens.

Mac Allister’s brace underlined Liverpool’s balance beyond Salah. The World Cup winner remains a metronome in Slot’s midfield, charged with tempo and transition, and here he offered end product, too. The scoreline shifted decisively before and after halftime — Salah’s free kick made it 3-0 moments into the second period — and Qarabag never threatened the equilibrium.

It was, in condensed form, the kind of night Liverpool needed: a clean sheet, minutes managed, key attackers contributing and a risk-free stroll to the finish line. If last season’s European exit still stings, Wednesday also carried a lesson in emotional control. The top eight guarantees nothing beyond a smoother path, but it is a choice position from which to launch a knockout run.

Liverpool’s path forward is already partly sketched. As a top-eight qualifier, the club will be paired with the winner of one of the playoff ties, leaving four potential last-16 opponents on the board:

• Club Brugge
• Galatasaray
• Juventus
• Atletico Madrid

None are straightforward, and all arrive with distinct challenges. Brugge’s unity, Galatasaray’s hostile away leg in Istanbul, Juventus’ defensive resolve and Atletico’s tactical edge each demand a tailored plan. Liverpool have lived the randomness of a draw before — PSG loomed after a seemingly ideal league phase last season — and Mac Allister’s caution reflects a dressing room that knows seeding offers comfort, not guarantees.

For Salah, the last 16 represents a stage he still bends to his will. His decision-making in the right channel, the disguised passes and the sharpness in tight spaces remain elite. The free kick against Qarabag was a different kind of reminder: that amid noise, the fundamentals can be simple, even elegant. Slot’s bet is that the clarity continues.

There is context beyond Europe, of course. Domestic form and squad health will weigh on how Liverpool navigate the next two months, just as the calendar intensifies. But Wednesday’s job was singular — finish emphatically, finish top eight — and it was done without fuss. If the opening weeks of December invited questions, late January offered a grounded answer.

Salah’s resurgence, Mac Allister’s authority and a restored sense of control: Liverpool exit the league phase with all three. The round of 16 awaits, and this time, Anfield arrives by choice, not chance.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.

Thursday January 29, 2026