Ajax v Liverpool: Champions League – Live! | Football

Here come the teams! It is a stormy night in Amsterdam, with the wind whipping the Johan Cruyff ArenA, the roof has been kept open. Someone commissioned a rhythm remix of the Champions League theme Zadok the Priest (version), so we have to endure that, but it moves to the worn version quickly enough. Little mercies. We’ll be out in a minute. “I suppose a lot of goals await us tonight, given Liverpool and Adrian’s restructured lineup on the net,” writes Mike MacKenzie. “That probably means 0-0 or 1-1.”

Ajax play tonight in their famous red and white jerseys. Meanwhile, Liverpool will wear black and

Gray
anthracite squares. Write your own press release using the following marketing approved phrases: “iconic”, “inspiration from European nights”, “heavily influenced by checkered flags and banners”, “unbeatable atmosphere”, “perfectly matched color scheme” , “long-explored traditions,” “the lens of sneaker culture,” “improvising,” “not a patch on the white Umbro number from the late 70’s with Hitachi on the front.” sneaker culture!

Positive mindset guru Jurgen Klopp talks to BT Sport. Curtis Jones is good enough. That’s. But also the situation, of course. We have some issues, so we have to make sure we can start and how we can finish the game. So that’s the reason. It’s good enough. That’s why he plays. We don’t think about [the missing Alisson and Virgil van Dijk] but we are constantly being asked about it, so it’s hard not to think about it! But when we are alone, you focus on the available players and go with everything you have, it is what you do. Soccer depends on the individual quality of the players, but not as much as people might think. It’s about perception. You think of individual situations: ah, with Van Dijk it would have been different. Yes. But we cannot change that. So we don’t think like that, we just try to play the best football we can do ”.

Two great decisions made by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The first one everyone expected: Fabinho backs up from midfield to try to fill Virgil van Dijk’s boots. The second is a bit more of a curve ball: Curtis Jones, 19, makes his full Champions League debut in midfield. It is one of four changes to the XI named at Everton last Saturday, with Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner in a new midfield, and Joe Gomez, a substitute at the weekend, joining Fabinho at the rear. Captain Jordan Henderson falls to the bank; Thiago and Joel Matip are injured.

In the meantime, there are some household names on the Ajax team. Say hello again to former Premier League stars Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Daley Blind (Manchester United) and Davy Klaassen (Everton). Coach Erik Ten Hag is clearly in If It Ain’t Broke mode – ten of the XI starters from Heerenveen’s 5-1 win are on the roster again. Lisandro Martinez takes the place of Lassina Traore.

Ajax: Onana, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Martinez, Tagliafico, Klaassen, Blind, Gravenberch, Neres, Tadic, Kudus.
Subsidiaries: Stekelenburg, Alvarez, Klaiber, Huntelaar, Promes, Ekkelenkamp, ​​Labyad, Traore, Kotarski.

Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Fabinho, Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Substitutes: Henderson, Minamino, Jota, Shaqiri, Origi, Rhys Williams, Kelleher, Neco Williams, Jaros, Cain.

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).

Liverpool have only played one competitive match against Ajax in Amsterdam before. This was goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence’s take on the proceedings:

It was December 1966, the second round of the European Cup, first leg, and Ajax, inspired by a young Johan Cruyff, went 2-0 up in 16 minutes. Bill Shankly, horrified by his team’s performance, calmly walked onto the field under cover of the fog and gave his players a good old fashioned why. He did a lot of good; Liverpool was four less at halftime. The game ended 5-1, and Shankly, with all the gall he could muster, criticized Ajax for “playing defensive football on their own ground.” What a man.

The return leg at Anfield was drawn 2-2, the goals shared between Cruyff and Roger Hunt. Hunting was something Liverpool did not participate in; a Barcelona-style comeback was never on the cards. Mind you, that didn’t stop ITV commentator Gerry Loftus from wondering, after Hunt scored his second in the 85th minute, “Could it be that Liverpool can get four back in just over four minutes?” Rough translation: “Please don’t hand over to BBC1.”

There the entire competitive story between two world-famous clubs ends with 21 European trophies between them. It’s strange how it all falls down sometimes, especially since Ajax were seconds away from lining up a matchup in the 2019 final, before Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura broke their hearts. But here they are, meeting again at last.

Ajax will be in good spirits, having won four of their first five Eredivisie games, the last a 5-1 beating from the Heerenveen. Liverpool, not so much, for … well, let’s not put more salt in that open wound. But the show must go on without its best defender, and how could they do it with a challenging performance tonight to lift their spirits. It’s easy to forget now that they’re still not too bad when stacked forward.

The fun starts at 8pm BST, 9pm in Amsterdam. Its on!