Mohamed Salah serves perfect reminder of Liverpool legacy in tearful Anfield farewell | OneFootball

Now the reign of Liverpool’s Egyptian king is over. But if Mohamed Salah abdicated, he signed off first in style and then in tears. Not with the goal he surely wanted, though he was inches away from a 258th and last for Liverpool, but with a reminder the third highest scorer in their history was more than just a scorer, and then an illustration of how much he and they have meant to each other.

A moving goodbye was an imperfect one, with neither a win nor a goal for Salah, but it was laced with a touch of class. A cross that served as a reminder he has more than a century of assists for Liverpool showed that, while Salah was sometimes accused of selfishness – for his words off the field and his shots on it – he made plenty of goals for others.

He will leave quite a legacy. A man who played in three Champions League finals and scored in one can take solace in the fact it includes seeing Liverpool back in the European elite. Underwhelming as a draw against Brentford was, Liverpool required a point to guarantee fifth place and Champions League football, and that is exactly what they got. “The minimum required,” said Arne Slot.

A meaningful match had a sentimental significance. Salah welled up when he returned to the pitch after the final whistle; he was hugged by Jordan Henderson, his Champions League-winning captain, making a belated first return to Anfield since his own departure in 2023 and finishing with his own lap of honour. There were constant choruses for Salah and Andy Robertson, who each had a drawn-out departure when substituted, featuring a guard of honour and interrupted by embraces from teammates. Each, indisputably, is an Anfield great and there was a rightful recognition of the spectacular service they have provided over the last nine years.

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(Reuters)

“They completely got what they deserved,” Slot. “Two legends and they have won nine trophies, for them it must have been a special day and a difficult day but the fans made it special for them. This club knows how to celebrate a league title and how to handle tragedies and how to celebrate these two players.”

Two of Liverpool’s finest ever, Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish, made presentations on the pitch; Salah and Robertson had their families with them, standing in front of the Kop one last time.

And if each is past a brilliant best, each can at least go knowing he gave Anfield a final glimpse of the player he was as he became perhaps the greatest Liverpool left-back of all, certainly their finest in the Premier League era. In his 378th and last game, Robertson was busy, breaking forward with verve, indicating he had been underused this season.

Meanwhile, this was a last time when Salah looked relentless in a Liverpool shirt. When he went off, only Curtis Jones had touched the ball more; one, courtesy of Salah, went into the net. The Egyptian’s Liverpool career began with a goal, at Watford in 2017, and there was a quest to end likewise. He scored the most goals in part because he had the most shots. He has not always felt as irrepressible this season. He was back to running at defenders, scurrying in trademark fashion, providing trickery in the box. Liverpool may have been trying to get him a valedictory goal. He was agonisingly close. Salah curled a free kick against the post, leaving his former teammate Caoimhin Kelleher motionless.

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Mohamed Salah of Liverpool poses for a selfie with fans (Getty)

There was nevertheless a moment of magic. Cody Gakpo hooked a pass forward, Salah surged into space – running down the wing, as the lyrics of his song went - and delivered a wonderful cross with the outside of his left foot. Jones, arriving at pace, a makeshift right-back entering the six-yard box, supplied the finish.

In keeping with Liverpool’s season, and certainly the end of it, there was no victory. Their lead only lasted six minutes. Brentford levelled through Kevin Schade’s close-range header after Keane Lewis-Potter’s cross deflected off Jones. Brentford got their first league goal at Anfield since 1937 but not a win that would have earned them a maiden European campaign. “If you had told me on the first of July we would be disappointed to miss out on Europe on goal difference,” reflected manager Keith Andrews. His side were so near to victory when Dango Ouattara headed over in the 100th minute while, at the other end, Kelleher had made an injury-time save from Florian Wirtz.

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Andy Robertson of Liverpool reacts as he is presented with a frame by CEO Billy Hogan, Sporting Director Richard Hughes, and former Liverpool players Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush (Getty)

There had been a still better stop earlier, by a player who may have been on his own Anfield farewell. Alisson Becker’s point-blank sharp from Schade showed that, if he goes as well, Liverpool will miss his nerveless brilliance when isolated against a forward.

They are already facing up to losing Salah and Robertson. “I'm definitely going to miss them,” said captain Virgil van Dijk. “We’ll say goodbye to legends of the club. Now it's a wrap on a disappointing season.” And a wrap on the Salah years.