Champions League soccer: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah curls sniped score vs. Salzburg

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah sniped in a beautiful score by curling a shot into the far post netting from a nearly impossible angle during a UEFA Champions League win against Red Bull Salzburg.

The splendid strike found the net in the 58th minute of the 2-0 triumph Tuesday at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria. Liverpool won Group E and advanced to the Champions League knockout round with the victory.

Salah's score occurred as a result of a defensive miscue from Salzburg.

Fullback Jerome Onguene got to a long ball before Salah at the start of the play and headed the feed back toward his own net. Salah raced to the back pass, beating Salzburg keeper Cican Stankovic to the ball. Salah then dribbled toward the end line before he smacked a shot toward the goal. The shot trailed the end line and squeezed in front of Stankovic and Onguene before curling into the far-post netting.

Salah's score came less than two minutes after midfielder Naby Keita netted the first goal of the game in the 57th minute. Reds defender Andy Robertson played a ball up to striker Sadio Mane on the left flank during that exchange. Mane chased the ball down and ran into the box, before chipping a pass to the middle of the box. Keita headed the pass through the Salzburg defense, finding the net for first blood.

"I saw it one time back [on replay] and for sure it was the most difficult situation he had tonight," Reds coach Jurgen Klopp told reporters. "But that's exactly what I said about the team -- he played really well but didn't score in the situations we expect him usually to score, but staying on track and making such a decisive and very difficult finish, that probably says much more about him than all of the other goals he has scored.

"So, staying concentrated, belief in the next moment, it was brilliant. A very, very difficult goal but a sensational finish."

"[Salah] could have made it a little bit easier for us tonight! I told him that as well, that he tried to make it a little bit more excited for the crowd maybe," Virgil van Dijk said of Salah's goal.

"He missed a chance in the first half, a big one, but you see his goal in the second half and that's the quality he has got, like the rest of the players."

Liverpool battles Watford in Premier League play at 7:30 a.m. EST Saturday at Anfield in Liverpool, England.