Liverpool produced a thoroughly impressive display to breeze past Ajax 3-0 at the Johan Cruijff Arena and seal their spot in the Champions League knockout stages. Jurgen Klopp’s side were under pressure for the first half an hour of play but took control of the tie after goals from Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott clinched a memorable victory in Amsterdam.
Mohamed Salah gave the Reds the lead against the run of play after 35 minutes, smartly dinking over Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer, who was way off his line and made a questionable decision to come out.
Darwin Nunez was guilty of a shocking miss just before the break but made amends with a pinpoint header to double their advantage, before Harvey Elliott made sure of the win on 52 minutes.
Express Sport looks at five things we learned as Klopp’s men secured their spot in the last-16 knockout round.
Salah leads the way
When he is in the mood, there are few players in Europe more influential than Salah. Ajax would have been furious that he was allowed to ghost in unmarked behind Calvin Bassey to lob Pasveer and they were suitably punished with an incisive finish. Then the Egyptian turned provider with an excellent through pass to set Elliott through on goal and the 19-year-old produced a thumping finish to make sure of their win.
So often, Liverpool have turned to Salah for moments of magic and the 30-year-old certainly delivered at the crucial moments. Even if he has struggled to maintain his usual high standards on a consistent basis this season in the Premier League, Liverpool will be glad to have him in this vein of form in Europe.
After scoring his sixth goal in five Champions League appearances this season and four games in a row, Salah is now just one goal away from equalling Steven Gerrard’s European record – and few would wager against the talisman reaching that milestone before the competition concludes for this season.
Klopp’s new shape a perfect fit
For weeks, Klopp has searched for a different variation of his flat 4-3-3 after watching his side become slightly predictable. The 4-2-2-2 was trialled against Arsenal but ended in them suffering a 3-2 defeat, and their experiment against Nottingham Forest also ended in defeat.
But with Salah and Nunez combining in a front two with Roberto Firmino in behind, Klopp made do with a 4-3-1-2 due to a lack of wingers available – and it worked a treat. Firmino had the freedom of Amsterdam in his No 10 role while Nunez and Salah occupied the two centre-backs, and Ajax struggled to contain the front three.
It remains to be seen whether he will use the same setup for their clash against Leeds. But the German tactician will be delighted his tinkering has rendered a positive result.
Reds show grit
There was nothing pretty about the way Liverpool went about their business in the first half. Sloppy mistakes on the ball were prominent, zero shots in the first 25 minutes and a lack of confidence in possession.
But defensively, the Reds worked cohesively as a unit to try and limit Ajax’s free-flowing attacking moves and stay in the game. Normally, they would be expected to dominate matches of this kind, but their current situation required an altered approach where results would be prioritised over style.
Klopp barked instructions from the touchline to ensure his players stayed in line and they worked tirelessly off the ball to make life difficult for Ajax. By suffering for a long period as they weathered the storm, Liverpool were able to frustrate Ajax and take advantage of their profligacy in the key moments.
Ajax let off nervy defence
Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold both misplaced passes, Joe Gomez was caught out of possession and even Virgil van Dijk was a bystander as Steven Berghuis needed only two minutes to carve open the Liverpool backline before somehow hitting the post.
It was a warning sign for the visitors, once they failed to heed, as Dusan Tadic went close soon after and the Serbian would have certainly scored had Alexander-Arnold not blocked his effort inside the box.
Even if Klopp’s men have only shipped only goal in their past three matches, Alisson Becker is responsible for a large share of the praise. And only Ajax’s profligacy helped them avoid another defensive inquest after a nervy start in Amsterdam.
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