Salah becomes first African to score 50 UCL goals as Liverpool defeat Galatasaray

Liverpool delivered an impressive performance to thrash Galatasaray 4-0 in their UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 second-leg clash at Anfield on Wednesday.

Mohammed Salah became the first African to score 50 UCL goals, despite missing a penalty, as Liverpool netted three times in the second half to secure a 4-1 aggregate victory.

The Egyptian reached the milestone ahead of Didier Drogba, who recorded 44 UCL goals, and Samuel Eto’o, who scored 30 in Europe’s premier club competition.

Galatasaray’s task against Liverpool was further complicated following an injury to Victor Osimhen, who was eventually substituted.

Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring for the Reds in the 25th minute with a well-executed first-time finish, before the hosts overwhelmed Galatasaray early in the second half with two quick goals from Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch.

Salah, whose first-half penalty was saved, later curled a fine effort into the top corner to register his landmark goal.

Liverpool have now reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2022 and will face Paris Saint-Germain, the defending UCL champions.

In other fixtures, Barcelona recorded a 7-2 victory over Newcastle United to advance, while Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich claimed a 4-1 win, sealing a 10-2 aggregate triumph over Atalanta.

Results

Liverpool 4-0 Galatasaray (Liverpool advance 4-1 on aggregate)
Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle United (Barcelona advance 8-3 on aggregate)
Bayern Munich 4-1 Atalanta (Bayern Munich advance 10-2 on aggregate)
Tottenham 3-2 Atletico Madrid (Atletico Madrid advance 7-5 on aggregate)