Mohamed Salah has got Liverpool fans believing. Thirteen years after Rafael Benitez's men clinched Champions League glory in Istanbul, the Reds are bidding for a sixth European Cup at the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Saturday, May 25.
The Premier League side are hoping to bring back the glory days and a Champions League title could be the best possible tangible result for Jurgen Klopp work.
Salah has been a revelation for Liverpool in the ongoing season. The Egyptian winger had endured a difficult phase during his first Premier League stint with Chelsea.
However, the 24-year-old has been making heads turn with his performances for the Reds ever since signing for them at £36.9m, which was initially looked at skeptically.
44 goals in all competitions, a record-tally of 32 in the league season and 10 in the ongoing top-tier European competition. It was no surprise that Salah was named the PFA's player of the year for the 2017/18 season. None deserved it better.
Salah faces big test
However, Salah faces one of the biggest tests of his career in his first major cup final in club football as Liverpool face European powerhouse Real Madrid, who are bidding for a Champions League hat-trick.
?? Mohamed Salah to become the first Egyptian winner? ?#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/P4Mdub8RSF
— #UCLfinal (@ChampionsLeague) May 26, 2018
Salah, fondly called as the "Egyptian King", had been grabbing all the limelight whenever he stepped on the turf in the ongoing season. However, Saturday night in Kiev will be different as the megastar of world football, Cristiano Ronaldo is touted as favourite to run the Reds party.
Comparisons between Salah and Ronaldo have been inevitable in the lead up to the big night. As the likes of Klopp and Real captain Sergio Ramos said, it's still too early to compare Salah with the likes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have been consistent over the years.
Ramos: "Cristiano & Messi ... these guys are in another orbit. [But] it's clear that Salah’s a fantastic player."#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/fX6q0Ef3dY
— #UCLfinal (@ChampionsLeague) May 26, 2018
Nonetheless, the race for Ballon d'Or is heating up and quite a few are of the opinion that a Champions League crown could help Salah bag the coveted award and halt Ronaldo's two-year run.
Tied on 44 goals each this season, Salah has a better conversion rate (23% compared to Ronaldo's 16%) but the Portuguese legend has taken fewer minutes per goals (81 minutes to Salah's 93), accoridng to Sky Sports. '
Ronaldo is topping the charts with 15 goals in the ongoing season, five more than nearest-rivals Salah and Roberto Firmino of the Liverpool.
Numbers aside, it will all boil down to who handles the pressure on the big night better.
Ronaldo's been there, done that!
Ronaldo heads into the final with loads of big-match experience, having featured in 17 major club football finals. He is eyeing a fifth Champions League title, having won it thrice in the last four seasons with Real and once with Manchester United in 2007/08.
The Portugal star has been there and done it as he has scored in four of his five Champions League final appearances, including a brace in last year's title match against Juventus.
The subplot involving Salah and Ronaldo has garnered huge interest. As the Liverpool superstar himself conceded, Sunday's final is not just going to be about the two stars but their imperious runs this season deserved a fitting finale, which has come in the form of the biggest match in European football season.
