Liverpool will take a big advantage going into the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final after beating Roma 5-2 on Tuesday.
Mohamed Salah scored two brilliant goals in the first half to put the Reds in complete control at Anfield on Tuesday night. And then in the second half, Sadio Mane netted before Roberto Firmino scored twice as Jurgen Klopp’s side started to run riot.
The tie looked over but Roma had other ideas, with Edin Dzeko and Diego Perotti scoring late on to give themselves an outside chance of winning the semi-final tie.
Sportsmail were on hand to cover anything you might have missed from an enthralling night at Anfield…
Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool beat Roma 5-2 on Tuesday
AWFUL START FOR THE LINESMAN
Just five minutes into the match, the linesman had a moment to forget when his flag fell lose onto the floor.
If you thought that was bad enough, it got even worse as he was made to run the line using just the pole while the fourth official brought a replacement round.
The comical episode rambled on, with the fourth official then having to piece the linesman’s flag back together.
Luckily for the linesman, he got his flag fixed and put it to good use in the 33rd minute, correctly ruling out Mane’s strike for offside.
The linesman had a moment to forget when his flag broke on him early on at Anfield
The official tried to put his flag back together during the early stages of the match
The linesman then had to wait for the fourth official to try and help him out on Tuesday
GERARD HOULLIER INSPIRES REDS ONCE AGAIN
The former Liverpool manager paid a visit to Anfield for the Champions League clash 16 years after his famous return to the dugout against Roma.
In 2002, the two teams met in the second round group stage as they looked to negotiate a ‘group of death’ along with Barcelona and Galatasaray.
Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw in Rome, meaning they had to beat the Italians by two clear goals to progress to the quarter-finals.
And the match at Anfield was a very emotional and special occasion, as Houllier returned to the dugout after recovering from heart surgery.
Houllier inspired the Reds to a 2-0 victory as Jari Litmanen scored an early penalty before Emile Heskey netted a second-half header to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Gerard Houllier celebrates Salah’s fantastic first goal on Tuesday against Roma
BE CAREFUL FIRMINO
Firmino performed his trademark celebration once again after Salah’s second goal of the evening.
After his team-mate’s delightful dink over Roma goalkeeper Alisson, Firmino can be seen performing his acrobatic kick in the air just inches away from Salah, who holds his hands up in respect to the travelling fans.
Klopp will be relieved that the Brazilian didn’t hurt his in-form star after seeing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain forced off early on.
Roberto Firmino performs his trademark celebration after Salah’s second goal of the night
SALAH CONTINUES TO BREAK RECORDS
Liverpool hero Salah has broken Samuel Eto’o’s record for most goals by an African player in a single Champions League season.
After his two-goal heroics against Eusebio Di Francesco’ side, he has now taken his tally in this season’s competition to a remarkable 10.
The 25-year-old has also scored the most by a Liverpool player in a single campaign in European competition. A dream season for the Egyptian.
Salah broke Samuel Eto’o’s record for most goals by an African in Champions League season
EGYPTIAN LIVERPOOL FANS CAN’T CONTAIN THEIR EXCITEMENT
The Champions League semi-final first-leg was watched all over the world.
And in Cairo, a big group of Egyptian Liverpool fans got together to watch the match and their star player on a big screen in a pub.
After Salah opened the scoring with his brilliant curling effort, the Egyptian fans celebrated in style, screaming and hugging one another.
Egyptians fans from Cairo watched Liverpool’s thrashing of Roma on Tuesday night
The fans went crazy after Salah opened the scoring with his brilliant curling effort
It was an evening to remember as they watched their Egyptian star ran circles around Roma
CHEEKY JURGEN KLOPP BANNER
It’s the semi-final of the Champions League and Liverpool fans couldn’t resist making a cheeky banner for their manager.
Ahead of the highly anticipated European clash, Liverpool supporters displayed a banner from a house, that read ‘Jurgen’s got a semi on’.
Very strong from the Reds faithful prior to kick-off.
Liverpool fans displayed a cheeky Jurgen Klopp banner before kick-off on Tuesday night
SALAH LOVE-IN
The Egyptian international has scored a remarkable 43 times this season and has instantly become a fan favourite at Liverpool.
Salah, who could never have predicted scaling such dizzy heights this time round in the Premier League after a very poor spell at Chelsea, received plenty of attention prior to kick-off and rightly so.
And while the Liverpool fans waited for both team buses, one supporter even showed off a Salah mouth mask, much to the amusement of those around him in the rain.
This Liverpool supporter donned a Salah mouth mask as he waited for the team buses
The fan donned the mask in the rain while those around him found the funny side of things
AWWW FOOTBALL FRIEND…
It was all rosy in the tunnel before the game as both Liverpool and Roma geared up for the last-four clash.
Despite going to battle just moments after, Roma uploaded a video on Instagram of Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan warmly embraced his former Roma team-mate Salah outside the changing rooms.
The pair, reunited once again after the Egyptian made the switch from Rome to Merseyside in the summer, were seen hugging and asking each other how they were as they arrived at Anfield on Tuesday.
Radja Nainggolan and Mohamed Salah embraced in the tunnel before kick-off
The pair were seen hugging each other as they made their way inside Anfield on Tuesday