Liverpool 2 Ajax 1: Matip scores last-minute winner and first Champions League goal for Reds to rescue Klopp’s men
JURGEN KLOPP needed a reaction after the worst night of his Liverpool career.
It was not spectacular or particularly convincing but the beleaguered Liverpool manager saw his team dig deep and deliver a huge victory.
Six days after a night of humiliation and a 4-1 battering at Napoli, a largely frustrating evening was sealed with a winner from Joel Matip.
It seemed as though Klopp’s team could have played all night without getting a second goal but in the 89th minute, Matip appeared to nod in a header.
Ajax thought they’d cleared that off the line but goal-line technology confirmed it was well over.
And so maybe, this is lift-off for Liverpool but there is still a hell of a lot of improving to do.
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Liverpool were frustrated in the final third with Ajax defending really well.
But Klopp, understandably, looked relieved at the end.
Equally, at least Mo Salah scored although even his early goal was not enough for him to look back to his best.
Salah has struggled since a crushing loss against Senegal in a World Cup play-off at the end of March.
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He had struck just six times in the subsequent 22 games, with seven of those matches – and two goals – coming this term.
Even so, the player who signed a big, fat contract in the summer is still some way short of what he has achieved.
Aside from the result, the other hope – as requested by Klopp 24 hours earlier – was that the fans would observe the minute’s silence.
It was only a minority of fans who spoiled it but they were noisy enough for Portuguese official Artur Dias to blow his whistle after just 25 seconds.
Yet a powerful start was then followed by an opening goal and you would have bet on a comfortable home win.
Playing intricate football is all well and good but sometimes, just hammering the ball up the pitch is just as effective.
That is exactly what keeper Alisson did as his long punt was met by Luis Diaz who did exceptionally well in leaping above Jurrien Timber.
Diogo Jota, preferred to both Bobby Firmino and Darwin Nunez, steered the ball into the direction of a scampering Salah.
He used his right foot to take the ball into the area and then used his left to smash an unstoppable shot past Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer.
For Salah, it was his first goal in eight Champions League matches, going all the way back to a 2-0 win at Inter Milan in February.
Diaz, one of the few Liverpool players enjoying a good season, should have made it 2-0 but pulled a shot wide.
Salah was then denied by some decent defending from former Manchester United left-back Daley Blind.
Yet despite being in complete control of the game, Liverpool were then left to wonder how on earth they let Ajax back into the game.
It was a good goal following a terrific, patient build-up.
Not for the first time, fingers were pointing at Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He was guilty of ball watching and failed to pick the run of Steven Berghuis behind him.
The winger, who failed to make a single League start for Watford in a brief spell from 2015, attempted to pick out Steven Bergwijn but found Ghanaian Kudus and he hammered an absolute belter of a shot via the underside of the bar.
It was as powerful a shot as you will ever see.
Alisson might arguably be the best in the world but he was not keeping this thunderbolt out of the net.
Even so, Liverpool did not seem rattled.
Van Dijk found himself unmarked at a couple of corners but on each occasion, his effort was blocked by Ajax keeper Pasveer, who also delivered a double save to deny Alexander-Arnold.
With 25 minutes left, and very little happening in the second half, Klopp made his changes with Nunez and Firmino introduced to spark some life into the attack.
Ajax came close when an unmarked Blind wasted a simple header.
Once again, Alexander-Arnold was all over the place.
And with a few minutes left, Nunez wasted Liverpool’s big chance by failing to score.
Keeper Pasveer then got a touch to a cross from Nunez which was enough to divert the ball beyond Diaz who would have definitely scored.
Salah’s shot was deflected wide via the post for a corner and from Kostas Tsimikas’ corner Matip rose to score.
With the trip to Chelsea on Sunday now postponed, Liverpool’s next match is against Brighton on October 1, one you would expect and the next match is at home to Rangers three days later.
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By beating Ajax, at least the pressure is off.
For a few weeks, at least.
