October 12, (THEWILL) – Liverpool thrashed Rangers 7-1 as Mohamed Salah netted the fastest hat-trick in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
At the Ibrox Stadium of the Scottish side, Scott Arfield scored his first UCL goal with a precise finish past Alisson from outside the penalty area, giving Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team a very lively and exciting start.
However, Firmino quickly equalised for Liverpool when he headed in a corner from close range so that the teams went into the break level on 1-1. Then, it became a one-sided show when play resumed as the Brazilian again and Darwin Nunez made it 3-1 for the Reds.
Then, in just six minutes and 12 seconds, Salah scored his hat-trick after coming off the bench, giving Liverpool a fighting chance of advancing to the next round against Ajax and Napoli, even though there was still time to add a seventh goal from Harvey Elliot. It meant Rangers were eliminated as they have no prospect of moving on to the next round.
Liverpool are currently three points behind Napoli and six above Ajax with just two games left before the round of 16. Before they return to European football however, they will have to show the same level of cold-blooded clinical display against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday while Rangers will concentrate on not being further disgraced against Motherwell.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
