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The score does nothing to flatter what was a fast-paced affair between two wonderfully positive sides who nevertheless couldn’t quite put it back together in the final third, but most importantly, Liverpool pulled the result and, thanks to a draw in the l ‘Atalanta Denmark, secured first place in Group D.
Below, we take a look at some of the winners and losers on that cold Anfield night.
Winners
Recovery: After the debacle against Atalanta last week, the importance of securing this victory and securing not only advancement to the next round, but also first place in the group one round early can hardly be overstated. With the obscene schedule facing the Reds this winter and the enormously sizable first-team injured roster, any game that can be called off and used to rest key players could prove critical across the board.
Assuming the trip to Midtjylland next week is used as a pure exhibition game, Liverpool starters will only play one game in the next 12 days, a wonderful luxury in a time when games are generally all played out. the three days for a month and a half.
Allowing Alisson, Naby Keïta, Thiago and Trent Alexander-Arnold to move closer to full health while Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Andrew Robertson, Fabinho and the top four can relax with their feet in the air might hopefully the, providing just the vitamin injection that the reds need to avoid completely depleting in this unprecedentedly crowded season.
Children: Given the challenges he faces regarding the health of his squad, Jürgen Klopp will require significant contributions from the fringe players if this season is to be a success, and with most of those fringe players also on the injury list, the yutes are going to have to step up.
And they did. Caoimhin Kelleher could have been the squad’s pick that night, with four total saves including an 87th-minute save on a Huntelaar header from close range to save all three points, but Curtis Jones and Neco Williams have more than that. played their role. . In fact, the two 19-year-old academy graduates were behind the game’s only goal, as Williams’ floated cross to the back post was found – albeit with a little help from a pounding Andre Onana. – Jones who knocked on the three-yard house. .
The goal wasn’t their only contribution, however, and while Williams looked a lot less outmatched than he sometimes did when called up this season, Jones was a real force, taking the ball more than any other Liverpool midfielder and doing a great job covering his full back when called up.
Losers
The Front Four: My God was the guys waste tonight. As the Reds racked up a number of clear chances to improve their stats over the past 20 minutes as Ajax threw caution to the wind and left impressive youngster Per Schuurs to fend for himself at the back , they should have done it much sooner. .
Ajax’s six plus one press saw them defending an entire half of a football pitch with three men for much of the first half, and Liverpool had at least five massive counterattack opportunities which were wasted, either by a bad touch, a bad pass, or, most blatantly, no pass at all, especially to Mohamed Salah who has been wide open in front of Onana on several occasions and neither Sadio Mané nor Diogo Jota have even tried to find it.
These wasted opportunities won’t show up in the numbers, but they represent either a sluggish night or a disturbing trend where the Reds’ historically murderous forwards have failed to make the most of the opportunities available to them. It didn’t affect the end result this time around, but it will be at another time if they can’t figure it out and get into the kind of pace that saw the team’s most feared transition attack. of Klopp in Europe.
Credit to the opposition
Ajax did what Ajax did, came out to play. High pressure, ambitious combination play from the back and a willingness to push the numbers forward, especially in the last quarter of the game, made it an exhilarating back-and-forth affair, which like the opposite game. in Amsterdam, strangely enough yielded only one goal. Both teams are some of the best European institutions and supporters of positive football and hopefully it won’t be another five decades before we see each other again.
What happens next
The reds have five days off! Klopp’s men will host Wolverhampton on Sunday, before sending off the Under-19s they can muster on a class trip to Denmark next Wednesday for a rubber Champions League.
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