Steven Gerrard was proven correct when he predicted Mohamed Salah would "embarrass" him at Liverpool.
The Liverpool veteran was correct in predicting that Mohamed Salah would easily break his European goal record for the Reds, as the Egyptian icon achieved just that.
Steven Gerrard once stated that he hoped Mohamed Salah would "embarrass" his Liverpool Champions League goal record.
Salah went on to become Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer, easily surpassing Gerrard's total. Gerrard scored 21 Champions League goals for his boyhood club throughout his 17-year tenure at Anfield. Salah had already surpassed that mark in three and a half seasons at the club.
Gerrard was insistent in late 2020, when Salah had just equaled his record with a goal against Atalanta, that he wanted the Egypt international to break his own record.
"Of course, records are there to be broken," the then-Rangers manager stated. "It was only a matter of time before Mo Salah equaled my scoring record for Liverpool in Europe last night; it was only a matter of time." I honestly believe he will go on to humiliate my record — and I hope he does."
At the time of his statements, Gerrard was still in charge of the Scottish giants, with Alfredo Morelos leading the line, who had just broken Rangers' Champions League goal record, also breaking a tally of 21.
"Mo Salah and Alfredo Morelos go about their business hungry for goals," Gerrard remarked. "My role at Liverpool was a little different. Nothing beats seeing someone go for a record and then smash it to smithereens."
Salah has gone on to do just that, with the former Chelsea forward now having precisely double the number of Champions League goals Gerrard had while playing for Liverpool, with 42.
Unlike Salah, Gerrard represented Liverpool in both the UEFA Cup and its renamed tournament, the Europa League. When the goals scored in those competitions are taken into account, the ex-England ace's total is 41.
This means that even if Gerrard scores in other European competitions, he will fall short of Salah's total.
While Salah has yet to play in a Europa League match for the Reds, he is preparing to do so for the first time after Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League last season due to a bad start to the league seas
Salah expressed his thoughts on the Europa League after Liverpool's status was confirmed on Twitter.
"I'm totally devastated," he tweeted to his 18 million Twitter followers. "There is no justification for this. We had everything we needed to qualify for the Champions League the next year, but we fell short. We are Liverpool, and just getting into the competition is enough. I'm sorry, but it's too early for an upbeat or positive post. We failed you and ourselves."
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