One of the best footballers in the world refused to celebrate after scoring against his old team in the biggest game of his career

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Mohamed Salah netted two goals in Liverpool's 5-2 win in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal against Roma, but refused to celebrate the scores.

• Mo Salah scored two phenomenal goals for Liverpool in the first leg of the team's Champions League semifinal against Roma.
• While the goals came in the biggest game of Salah's career thus far, he refused to celebrate, as he was facing off against his former team.
• Salah is in the midst of an unbelievable year, and could potentially challenge Ronaldo and Messi for the title of "Best Player in the World."

For close to a decade now, the title of "Best Soccer Player in the World" has toggled between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But this year, with stellar play across competitions for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah feels like he's given both players a run for their money.

Just 25 years old, Salah still has plenty of room to grow, but has been nothing short of astounding for Liverpool this year, and entered the first leg of the Champions League semifinal against Roma in the best form of his career. His performance didn't disappoint, with Salah netting two goals for The Reds en route to a 5-2 victory over Roma, putting the team just 90 minutes away from a spot in the Champions League final.

While his goals were impressive and sent the home crowd into hysterics, Salah refused to celebrate his scores, choose instead to just throw his hands up in deference as his teammates swarmed around him.

Salah's stoic reactions to his goals might strike some as odd, but it's rooted in tradition. Salah was playing against Roma, his former club where he finished as the team's top goalscorer last season. With no bad blood with his old squad, Salah chose instead to keep things respectful, and seemed almost apologetic once the ball had found the back of the net.

He had a similar reaction when he scored his second goal of the match.

Salah will have plenty of other opportunities to celebrate - he now has 43 goals in all competitions this season, so taking a moment to pay respect to his former club is no sweat off his back.

Still, it's an impressive move to see a young athlete playing in what is likely the biggest game of his career up until this point. Messi and Ronaldo may reign supreme for now, but Mo Salah is coming to catch them at an impressive rate if he hasn't caught them already.

With the potential of a Liverpool-Real Madrid Champions League final looming, we may not have to wait long to find out.