Mohamed Salah’s dismal record vs Real Madrid as Liverpool star eyes revenge

Will it be ninth time lucky for Mohamed Salah?

The Liverpool star has lost seven and drawn one of his previous appearances against Real Madrid. He also had to endure a lot of heartache on the biggest stage against the Champions League's most dominant club.

But he will get another chance to beat Los Blancos at Anfield tonight when Arne Slot's top sides, the only team with a 100% record in the league after four games, host Carlo Ancelotti's injury-hit side.

Talk of Salah's future at Liverpool may dominate the pre-match conversation, but here's a brief account of how Salah has fared so poorly against Real over the years.

In his first season at Roma, Salah failed to land a blow against the La Liga giants as he lost both legs 2-0. Real went all the way to an 11th title, beating neighbors Atletico in the final at San Siro.

The incident that sparked worldwide outrage. Salah had reached the end of an impressive first season under Jurgen Klopp in top form, but Sergio Ramos dislocated his shoulder early on in Kiev. It prompted the manager to oppose a “brutal and ruthless” challenge that saw more than half a million people sign a petition in favor of the idea.

But Ramos went unpunished for the incident and the match was scoreless before Real eventually won 3-1 thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and a stunning double from Gareth Bale. Sadio Mane had initially equalised.

Salah had to wait three years for a chance at revenge, but behind closed doors due to the pandemic, Real were two goals ahead within just over half an hour of the first leg. The Egyptian pulled a goal back early in the second period before Vinicius Junior scored again for Real. The return match ended scoreless, which remains the only time Salah has avoided defeat.

An evening overshadowed by the chaotic organization of UEFA and the local police, followed by a shocking attempt to shift the blame to the Liverpool fans. Vinicius Junior thwarted the Reds again by scoring the only goal of the match at the Stade de France.

It had started quite well. It fell apart quickly. Salah defeated Darwin Nunez within four minutes before making it 2-0 less than fifteen minutes into the first leg. But Real leveled in the 36th minute and left Anfield with a 5-2 win. The second leg was uneventful before Karim Benzema scored late on.