A LIVERPOOL ball boy who helped inspire the famous Champions League comeback against Barcelona is now an Anfield wonderkid with the same goal tally as Mo Salah.
Oakley Cannonier, 17, netted his 20th goal of the season for Liverpool’s Under-18s in their 5-5 draw with Manchester United’s kids earlier this month.
Former Liverpool ball boy hero Oakley Cannonier, 17, is now scoring goals for fun in the U18s Credit: Alamy
Cannonier’s heroics against Barcelona helped Liverpool secure a place in the 2019 Champions League final It’s the same amount of goals that Liverpool senior star Salah, 29, has fired home this term.
And it caps a remarkable tale for Cannonier, who played a key role for the Reds against Barcelona in 2019.
Liverpool lost the first leg of the Champions League semi-final 3-0 at the No Camp before fighting back at Anfield to make it 3-3 on aggregate.
And with just 10 minutes left, ball boy Cannonier quickly gave Trent Alexander-Arnold the ball at a Liverpool corner.
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Bet £10 on football and get £30 FREE BETS plus £10 casino bonus with 888 Sport The right-back swiftly took the set-piece while Barcelona were still daydreaming.
And Divock Origi slammed home to send the Reds to the final as 4-3 winners.
Liverpool ended up winning the Champions League final with a 2-0 win against Tottenham.
And Cannonnier was hailed by many at the club as a hero, with Jurgen Klopp saying: “I just need to thank you for what you did.”
Cannonier has 20 goals this season – just like Mo Salah Credit: Getty .css-qu9fel{border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}.css-b9nmbi{margin-bottom:16px;border-top:1px solid #dcdddd;}
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Reflecting on his progress from ball boy to Liverpool youth star, Cannonier declared: “I want to become known for being a legend for different reasons, not for being a ball boy.
“I want to be like Trent in terms of what he’s done so far.”
Klopp certainly won’t complain if he finds an heir to Salah in Cannonier.
Egypt star Salah has an incredible 153 goals in 239 games for Liverpool.
But the forward has been linked with a summer exit after failing to agree terms on a new contract.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
