2 years ago
17
ARTICLE AD BOX
Mohammed Salah has now scored 34 goals for Liverpool in the Champions LeagueJoel Matip's late header gave Liverpool their first Champions League win this season with a dramatic victory against Ajax at Anfield.
Manager Jurgen Klopp demanded a reaction to the "horror show" of the 4-1 defeat away to Napoli in their opening Group A game and this was certainly a vast improvement.
Liverpool created plenty of openings and were deservedly ahead after 17 minutes when Mohamed Salah swept home Diogo Jota's pass.
Ajax had barely threatened but were level 10 minutes later when Mohammed Kudus thumped in an emphatic finish off the underside of the bar after he was played in by Steven Berghuis.
Liverpool created chances in front of The Kop - while Daley Blind missed a great chance to put Ajax ahead late on - before Matip rose to head home from a corner in the closing moments.
Liverpool's persistence pays off
Liverpool needed to respond to the debacle of Napoli and while they were nowhere near their best this was all about getting the result and getting this season's Champions League show on the road.
It looked for a long while that Ajax's composed, unhurried style, along with Liverpool's lack of cutting edge, might mean another disappointment before Matip rose to score.
It meant a vital three points for last season's beaten finalists and the start of the recovery from the opening in Italy that Klopp labelled the worst performance of his reign at Anfield.
Before the game, there was a short period of silence in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and while there were a handful of dissenting voices shouting out, they were hushed by the vast majority of those inside Anfield, who observed the tribute respectfully.
Once the action started, match-winner Matip and Thiago Alcantara were the key to Liverpool's improvement, the defender not only strong at the back but adding quality with his ability to bring the ball out of defence before picking the right pass.
The former Schalke defender's decisive late contribution capped an outstanding display.
Thiago's ability to dictate the tempo and find colleagues has been sorely missed while he has been injured and his performance was a signpost to how important he will be as Liverpool try to recover from an indifferent start to their season.
- How Wednesday's Champions League action unfolded
- Go straight to all the latest Liverpool news and views
- You can now get Liverpool news notifications in the BBC Sport app - find out more
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key1 = Give it up10 = Pure perfection
Liverpool
Squad number1Player nameAlisson
Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold
Squad number32Player nameMatip
Squad number4Player namevan Dijk- Squad number21Player nameTsimikas
- Squad number19Player nameElliott
- Squad number3Player nameFabinho
- Squad number6Player nameThiago Alcántara
Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah- Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota
- Squad number23Player nameDíaz
Squad number7Player nameMilner
Squad number9Player nameRoberto Firmino- Squad number27Player nameNúñez
- Squad number43Player nameBajcetic
Ajax
Squad number22Player namePasveer
Squad number15Player nameRensch
Squad number2Player nameTimber
Squad number3Player nameBassey
Squad number17Player nameBlind
Squad number4Player nameÁlvarez
Squad number8Player nameTaylor
Squad number10Player nameTadic
Squad number23Player nameBerghuis
Squad number7Player nameBergwijn
Squad number20Player nameKudus
Squad number9Player nameBrobbey
Squad number19Player nameSánchez
Squad number21Player nameGrillitsch
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-Arnold
- 32MatipBooked at 62mins
- 4van Dijk
- 21Tsimikas
- 19ElliottSubstituted forFirminoat 66'minutes
- 3Fabinho
- 6Thiago AlcántaraSubstituted forBajceticat 90+4'minutes
- 11Salah
- 20JotaSubstituted forNúñezat 66'minutes
- 23DíazSubstituted forMilnerat 90+2'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Gomez
- 7Milner
- 9Firmino
- 13Adrián
- 27Núñez
- 28Freitas Gouveia Carvalho
- 29Arthur
- 43Bajcetic
- 47Phillips
- 95Davies
Ajax
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 22Pasveer
- 15RenschSubstituted forSánchezat 68'minutes
- 2Timber
- 3Bassey
- 17Blind
- 4ÁlvarezBooked at 59mins
- 8TaylorSubstituted forGrillitschat 80'minutes
- 10Tadic
- 23BerghuisBooked at 90mins
- 7Bergwijn
- 20KudusSubstituted forBrobbeyat 86'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Stekelenburg
- 6Klaassen
- 9Brobbey
- 11Ocampos
- 13Kaplan
- 16Gorter
- 18Lucca
- 19Sánchez
- 21Grillitsch
- 25Baas
- 26Regeer
- 29Magallán
Referee:Artur Manuel Soares Dias
Attendance:52,387
Live Text
Match ends, Liverpool 2, Ajax 1.
Second Half ends, Liverpool 2, Ajax 1.
Substitution, Liverpool. Stefan Bajcetic replaces Thiago.
Hand ball by Kostas Tsimikas (Liverpool).
Substitution, Liverpool. James Milner replaces Luis Díaz.
Steven Berghuis (Ajax) is shown the yellow card.
Luis Díaz (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Steven Berghuis (Ajax).
Goal! Liverpool 2, Ajax 1. Joël Matip (Liverpool) header from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Kostas Tsimikas with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Calvin Bassey.
Attempt blocked. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Substitution, Ajax. Brian Brobbey replaces Mohammed Kudus.
Foul by Thiago (Liverpool).
Steven Berghuis (Ajax) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Remko Pasveer.
Attempt saved. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Roberto Firmino.
Attempt missed. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Mohamed Salah.
Joël Matip (Liverpool) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Steven Bergwijn (Ajax).
Substitution, Ajax. Florian Grillitsch replaces Kenneth Taylor.
- Our coverage of Liverpool is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
- Everything Liverpool - go straight to all the best content
English (US) ·