There was a look of disbelief on Mohamed Salah's face as he smiled wryly beneath the Anfield sun - surely it couldn't end like this.
For a moment, it was all so familiar. With Liverpool cruising at 2-0 against Crystal Palace, Salah cut in from the right with a trademark run before delivering a delicate back heel to Dominik Szoboszlai inside the penalty area.
But then there was a hush as supporters began to realise what was unfolding. Salah, reluctantly sinking to the turf and clutching his left hamstring, stared into the cloudless blue sky knowing his third-to-last Anfield appearance was over - and with it perhaps his Liverpool career.
Anfield rose to applaud Salah and he returned the praise, clapping all four sides and savouring the moment as he departed the pitch. Four hundred and thirty-nine appearances and 257 goals, and this is how it ends?
"We don't know," hoped head coach Arne Slot.
Tim Sherwood summed up the sense of inevitability on Soccer Saturday. "This could be the end of him in a Liverpool shirt," he said. "What a sad end."
Salah has already known for weeks that his time at Liverpool would end on May 24, after agreeing to bring his nine-year stay to an early close. Few would have imagined the final chapter unfolding like this, forced off not on his own terms.
"If we were 6-0 up and I take him out two minutes before the end, he's still like 'I could have scored two more'," said Slot.
"For Mo to leave the pitch, that tells you something, but we have to wait and see how bad it is."
It has been a difficult season for Salah, one marked by a public fallout with Slot and a campaign that never gathered momentum. Liverpool have failed to mount a serious title challenge or add silverware, and Salah's numbers have reflected that decline.
His 21 goal contributions represent his lowest return at the club, a stark contrast to the extraordinary 34 goals and 23 assists he delivered just last season.
Salah's injury also sums up Liverpool's misfortune. "It's the story of our season," said Slot.
Liverpool host Chelsea on May 9 after their visit to Manchester United on May 3, live on Your Site, before what should be Salah's big farewell against Brentford on the final day of the season. He faces a race against time.
"Mo has taken such good care of his body that he will have the minimum time required to recover from an injury and let's hope for the best that he's available for the last part," added Slot.
But if he is not able to raid down the right wing one last time at Anfield, then his Liverpool career will feel oddly incomplete.
And for a player who made a habit of writing his own endings, it would be one he never got to finish.
Sunday May 3: Man Utd (a) - kick-off 3.30pm, live on Your Site
Satruday May 9: Chelsea (h) - kick-off 12.30pm
Sunday May 17: Aston Villa (a) - kick-off 3pm
Sunday May 24: Brentford (h) - kick-off 4pm
