Liverpool star Mohamed Salah gave the Southampton team the slip to score a fine solo goal on Friday night – before selling teammates Jordan Henderson and Andy Robertson a hilarious dummy in his celebration.
With 10 minutes to play in the crunch Premier League encounter at St. Mary’s and with the scores level at 1-1, Salah ran more than half the length of the pitch before coolly slotting home to give title-chasing Liverpool the lead.
It was the Egyptian’s first goal in nine games, and meant he reached 50 Premier League goals for Liverpool in 69 games in the competition – quicker than any other Reds player.
Salah celebrated his solo stunner in style, whipping off his shirt and raising his arms to the away fans in the crowd as his teammates raced over to join him.
But it was what happened next that caught the eye of some social media users, as Salah effortlessly ducked to evade the attempts of the onrushing Henderson and Robertson to embrace him.
Salah gave the pair the slip with what some Twitter users called “perfect timing,” as Henderson and Robertson ending up in each other’s arms, rather than hugging their teammate.
Liverpool skipper Henderson, a 59th-minute substitute on the night, went on to add to his team’s lead as they ran out 3-1 winners to put them back at the top of the Premier League table, two points ahead of Manchester City, who have a game in hand on their rivals.
Liverpool have five games to play while City have six, and it seems neither can afford a slip-up as the title race looks set to go down to the wire.
Pep Guardiola’s City are hoping to retain the title they won last year, while Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are aiming to end a 29-year drought as champions of England.
Liverpool will be hoping that star man Salah's goal on Friday means his drought is firmly behind him, and will open the floodgates for more in the crucial run-in to the end of the season.