Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is hoping Mohamed Salah manages to maintain the scintillating form that saw him score the fastest hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League history.
The 30-year-old started the match on the substitute bench and was brought on in the 68th minute.
Eleven minutes after introduction, Salah scored his first goal before sending the fans into a frenzy after completing his record-breaking hat-trick in six minutes.
Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Roberto Firmino were also on target in the emphatic 7-1 win over Rangers, with the latter grabbing a brace.
Frenchman Bafetimbi Gomis was the previous holder of this record when he banged a hat-trick in seven minutes for Olympique Lyon in a match played against Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.
For Salah, though, the hattrick comes at a time he has been experiencing a below-par season by his high standards.
Last weekend he was pulled out in the hotly contested game against Arsenal, in which they narrowly lost 3-2, an indication of how his form nosedived in recent times.
However, Klopp said is now confident that Salah might have just turned a corner for himself and the Reds after the trailblazing performance on Wednesday.
KLOPP SPEAKS…
“Mo is Mo. Quickest hat-trick in Champions League history, that’s something special.
“Everything. You could see the reaction. I couldn’t see Mo celebrating because he was always running in the corner, but you could see with Darwin [Nunez] that it meant the world to him. The relief is big. All the effort is paying off.
“We all know when it is running for Mo, he is exceptional, absolutely exceptional. Obviously, it was a different position for him tonight, coming on.
“I hope everything works for him from now on like I hope it does for us!,” Klopp said, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.
The forward has now scored eight goals in all competitions ahead of a potential thriller against Manchester City on Sunday.
Two of his goals came in the Premier League, with hopes that he starts scoring as many goals in the league to catch up with this season’s pacesetter Erling Haaland.
