Mohamed Salah is absolutely brilliant. He’s a top-five player in the world at the moment. He’s the PFA player of the year, the best player in England, a soon-to-be record-breaking goalscorer, and so on. The list of honors and superlatives is almost endless.

But none of that is news. The news is that Salah one-upped himself Tuesday in the Champions League. He topped brilliance with perfection – or about as close as one can come to perfection on a soccer field.

He scored this goal to put Liverpool ahead of Roma in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal tie at Anfield:

It was the first of five Liverpool goals in a 5-2 first-leg win.

Salah didn’t celebrate out of respect for his former club. But then he went on and struck another blow before halftime to give Liverpool a deserved 2-0 lead:

The Reds were rampant for the final 20 minutes of the half, and are in great position to advance to the Champions League final.

Their 20 minutes of dominance weren’t all about Salah, either. Even in the buildup to the goal, Jordan Henderson and Giorginio Wijnaldum won two crucial 50/50 challenges in midfield.

But the Egyptian winger was the one with the quality to break the deadlock, then put Liverpool in control. Roma defenders mistakenly stood off him, and allowed him to work his magic.

Salah then dealt out two assists in the second half, and Liverpool was up 5-0 with more than 20 minutes to go. But two late Roma goals left the door ajar heading back to Italy.