When the moment arrived, Robbie Fowler had the perfect view from his seat in the front row of the Main Stand's upper tier.
As Mohamed Salah swept Liverpool's sixth goal past David de Gea and whipped his shirt off in celebration, the man nicknamed 'God' by the Kop applauded the sight of history being made.
Fowler's long-standing club record of 128 Premier League goals is no more. Salah now leads the way.
“People have asked me how it felt and I'm being genuine when I say I was absolutely delighted for Mo,” Fowler tells The Athletic. “I'm a Liverpool fan. I'm a season ticket holder. I want to see my forwards scoring goals and breaking records. Even if that means my own records going.
“That's not me being diplomatic. I had a great run but now it belongs to Mo. The more he scores, the better chance we've got as a team of getting where we want to be.
“The other week he took Steven Gerrard's record of most European goals for the club and now he's got my Premier League one. Credit to him. He's already a legend of the club and what he's doing now is cementing his legacy.”
So what is it that Fowler believes sets Salah apart from his peers?
Breathtaking consistency
Salah's 129 Premier League goals have come in 205 matches — 61 fewer top-flight appearances than Fowler made for the club.
The Egyptian recently became the second Liverpool player (after Ian Rush) to score 20 goals or more in all competitions in six successive seasons, and he now sits seventh in the club's all-time scoring list on 178. The only player above him to net at a faster rate is Gordon Hodgson, who last graced Anfield in 1935.
Salah is no flat-track bully: his favourite opponents are Manchester United, who have now suffered at his hands on 10 occasions, while Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham all feature in his top 10.
Salah's Liverpool PL goals by opponent OpponentGoalsManchester United10Watford9West Ham9Bournemouth8Arsenal7Crystal Palace7Leeds United7Southampton7Tottenham7Brighton 6Manchester City6Newcastle United6Aston Villa5Everton5Chelsea4Huddersfield4Leicester4Wolves4Fulham3Norwich City3Stoke City2West Brom2Brentford1Burnley1Cardiff City1Sheffield United1
Salah hasn't been at his blistering best for most of this season but he still boasts 22 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
“Mo's stats are unbelievable,” Fowler says. “It's not just the number of goals, it's the incredible rate at which he's got them. It's all about standards. He's set such ridiculously high ones in the past that when there's a slight drop-off people are quick to question him.
“But he's still leading the way. He's still the most potent weapon. It's hard to do what he's done so consistently at the highest level for so long. He's effectively a right-sided attacker rather than a striker. He's unorthodox, but he's uniquely brilliant.”
The skill set
Salah formed part of a renowned front three with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino as Liverpool won the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the Premier League title.
Now Jurgen Klopp's front line is evolving and new partnerships are developing with Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez, but Salah's skills are such that he complements different kinds of forward.
“Pace and strength are two of his biggest assets,” Fowler says. “He can burst away from defenders but he's also so good at using his body, whether that's to look after the ball and link play or spin away from his marker.
“He's so dangerous when he's running in behind, cutting in off the right onto his left foot. But he can also operate in tight spaces. He has that hunger to score goals. He always wants more. He never settles.”
For Fowler, Salah's first goal against United on Sunday was the perfect showcase of his talents.
“It was the instinctiveness of it,” he said. “Nunez's pass got deflected into his path and 'bang'. He knew exactly where the goal was. The power he got on the ball ensured the keeper had no chance as it flew in off the underside of the bar. Right foot as well. He's capable of scoring such a wide range of goals — individual brilliance out of nothing and scruffy two-yarders.”
Mohamed Salah slams in his first goal against Manchester United on Sunday (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
The mindset and durability
One of Salah's most priceless attributes is his availability. As he approaches the business end of his sixth season at Liverpool, he's closing in on 300 appearances for the club. He hasn't missed a Premier League game in 2022-23. In fact, he has only sat out 10 top-flight matches in total since he arrived from Roma in 2017.
Despite the rough treatment regularly dished out to him, he rarely loses his composure. Sunday was just the seventh time he has received a yellow card in 291 games for Liverpool. It was the fourth time he's been booked for taking his shirt off after scoring.
“To go through your career without a serious injury of course you need a bit of luck,” Fowler says. “But his appearance record also says a lot about how Mo looks after himself. Cristiano Ronaldo gets a lot of plaudits on that front and Mo deserves the same.
“His body is a temple. He's completely devoted to his profession. He's the perfect example for the young players coming through in terms of how to lead your life. I'm sure he's played a lot with aches and pains, but he just hates missing games.”
Mohamed Salah's physical condition is one of his greatest strengths (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Salah received a thunderous ovation from his team-mates when he returned to the home dressing room on Sunday where he was presented with a commemorative shirt with '129' on it. He celebrated at home in Cheshire with a cup of camomile tea alongside his family before enjoying a well-earned Monday off.
The future
Salah sets himself individual targets. He admitted on Sunday that the prospect of becoming Liverpool's top scorer of the Premier League era had been driving him on since he won the Golden Boot with 32 goals in 2017-18.
So what now? By the end of this season, he could sit fifth in the club's all-time scoring list. He's five behind Fowler (183) and eight adrift of Gerrard (186). That would leave just the iconic names of Billy Liddell (228), Hodgson (241), Roger Hunt (285) and Rush (346) ahead of him.
When the goals dried up earlier this season, some critics questioned the wisdom of making him the highest-paid player in the club's history last summer with that new three-year contract worth around £350,000 per week. That debate has since been quietened. Salah was worth breaking the bank for.
Mo Salah may be well behind Ian Rush (left) in Liverpool's all-time scoring charts but nobody has more Premier League goals (Photo: John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
“He's only 30 and he should still have many years left at the top level. It's exciting to think about what he could still achieve. There are more chapters to be written,” Fowler added.
“But he won't be looking too far ahead. More than anything Mo will want to fire Liverpool back into the Champions League. That's where this club needs to be and thrashing United won't count for anything if they don't kick on from here. He'll know that.
“My message to him is, 'Congratulations, you deserve all the praise that's come your way because you've been sensational for this club. Keep scoring goals for us, keep breaking records'.”
Our favourite Salah league goals
Robbie Fowler: Manchester City, 2021
We've got so many to pick from but the one against City at Anfield last season was really special.
It just had everything. Nothing looked on when Salah received the ball from Curtis Jones outside the box with his back to goal. But then there was the strength to hold off the defender, the close control and the balance to weave his way past another couple of challenges and into space in the penalty area. He seemed to be gliding across the grass.
Even then the angle was tight but the arrowed finish past Ederson was unstoppable. Few players can score a goal like that.
James Pearce: Chelsea, 2019
Context is important here. Liverpool had been knocked off the Premier League summit by Manchester City earlier in the day. The pressure in the title race was intense.
Liverpool hadn't beaten Chelsea at home for seven years. All the talk pre-game had been about the Londoners potentially gate-crashing the party like they did in 2014. It was an emotion-fuelled day as Anfield fell silent in memory of those who lost their lives at Hillsborough.
Sadio Mane's header had given Liverpool a narrow lead when Salah raised the roof. Latching on to Virgil van Dijk's pass, he darted inside off the right flank, burst away from Emerson Palmieri and unleashed an unstoppable thunderbolt into the top corner from 25 yards. An individual goal of stunning beauty against his former club.
Caoimhe O'Neill: Watford, 2021
Salah's goal against Watford last season was spectacular. And you know the one I'm talking about. It was alarming to witness. It was like watching your phone drop to the floor and there's nothing you can do to stop it because gravity is inevitable. At moments like this, so is Salah.
This was him at his most martian-like. If you asked artificial intelligence to simulate a goal like this it couldn't because, yes, it was robotic and almost computerised — but it was real.
The fact Salah had scored a carbon copy against Manchester City a couple of weeks earlier only made heads melt even more watching him do it all over again. Nobody could read or react as fast as Salah.
Only the best players in the world can make it look like they've hit pause on an entire defence. But that is what Salah did. He was like lightning. First, you see the flash and then the thunder comes. By the time the noise is ringing in your ears, there's no way to stop it.
A lot of his goals are high art, the kind you could put in a gold frame and place in a fancy gallery. But his goals are high fashion too. Vicarage Road on that particular Saturday was his runway and he was wearing couture.
Andy Jones: Manchester United, 2020
There are few better sights on a football pitch than Salah bearing down on goal, unless you are the opposition of course. But there he was, in the dying moments against Manchester United unmarked and waiting on the halfway line as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side pushed for a late equaliser.
As soon as Alisson caught the ball, the arm was aloft and he was on the move. The Brazilian goalkeeper did not hesitate, but then it was all about the Egyptian.
The first touch was sublime. Each after that took him closer to the goal but there was no overthinking, just clarity and confidence. Dan James was swatted off like a fly and then, the coolest man in the stadium stroked the ball past De Gea and into the net.
This was a man in his element, a player at the peak of his powers, cherishing the moment when belief turned into reality.
The top was off, the chiselled physique on show; the forward who personifies calm when netting could not contain his emotions. Alisson was first to him, and the pair embraced, staring at the bedlam they had combined to create in the Kop.
“Now you're gonna believe us, we're gonna win the league,” chanted the Anfield crowd and it was only right that it was Salah who provided such a defining moment.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Samuel Richardson)