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It wasn’t pretty, but Liverpool won’t mind in the least. Their 1-0 victory at Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday can be marked as a job done for Jurgen Klopp’s team as they navigated a difficult Champions League tie and took a firm step into a season in which they will forever remember that his players are absent due to injury.
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Klopp has grown increasingly exasperated this week by the narrative about Virgil van Dijk’s possible injury that could end the season. He was irritable at prematch’s press conference when asked about the extent of Van Dijk’s absence; Liverpool have been understandably aggrieved by the way it happened, but Klopp stressed the need to focus on solutions rather than excuses.
And while it was pouring rain in Amsterdam, Klopp’s Liverpool rode their luck at times and needed a last-gasp heroic defense from Fabinho, but they managed a win over Ajax that had as much to do with focus and character as it did with a win. tactic.
“It wasn’t the most visually pleasing performance, both teams can play much better football,” Klopp said after the game. “We were quite dominant. Ajax is usually a brilliant football team, but it was tough tonight.”
With Van Dijk and Joel Matip absent, and an eyebrow raised at suggestions that they should have strengthened or need to strengthen at the rear, Klopp teamed up with Joe Gomez with midfielder turned central defender Fabinho in the middle of his defense.
“I don’t think they have [Gomez and Fabinho] played before together [at the back]. It was good, but even [Fabinho] can play better. They need to get used to each other, to get used to the verbal demands of that position. It was a good performance, but there is a lot to improve, that’s good! How high or low the last line was at the time, it was absolutely good, “Klopp added.
With Alisson also recovering from injury, Adrian was substituted in goal, and the trio stood their ground against Ajax’s deceptions and attempts to remove them from their position or exploit any space from Liverpool’s high pressure.
Liverpool actually sat deeper than we’re used to seeing, and Ajax’s lack of roominess, or the use of overlapping wings, meant they could largely cope with the elusive Dusan Tadic and the pace of David Neres and Quincy. Promes. But fortune smiled at them. Adrian saved well from a Promes effort from close range, standing up to block from 5 meters, while Tadic managed to break the high pressure and launched a stranded Adrian only to see Fabinho acrobatically clear the line.
“He’s a top-tier player, so elite players can adapt,” was James Milner’s post-match assessment of Fabinho’s punt.
Davy Klaassen hit the inside of the post and saw another well-saved effort, while Ryan Gravenberch put up a half chance from wide, but the clean sheet will be a welcome encouragement after Liverpool’s turbulent week. When they arrived in Amsterdam, Liverpool were still publicly aggrieved by the harsh justice they perceived they were subjected to against Everton last Saturday. But privately, you can imagine Klopp making sure his team focused on what they could control, and not on absent personnel with top six teams failing to face Ajax (Alisson, Van Dijk, Matip, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita).
“We are not foolish enough to think we don’t need a little luck for a clean sheet. We could have done better. We didn’t hang a clean sheet too high as there were two situations. [Klaassen’s attempt and Fabinho’s late clearance] where we were far from perfect, “Klopp said.
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Steve Nicol believes that the Liverpool players should move on and put Virgil van Dijk’s absence aside.
Klopp gave Curtis Jones a Champions League debut in Liverpool midfield as he started alongside Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum. But the ball was played largely on or around them, rather than through them. They looked dangerous on the counterattack and Mohamed Salah had an effort well blocked by Noussair Mazraoui, while Roberto Firmino again left without a goal and looking to go off the mark this season.
But after a weekend in which Liverpool ran out of luck, they will have gladly accepted the gift offered for what turned out to be their winning goal. Sadio Mane carefully cut into Perr Schuurs and then hit the grass before the ball while scratching his shot towards Nicolas Tagliafico, who was unable to change his position and deflected the ball past his goalkeeper, Andre Onana.
It was a rough and ugly goal, but Liverpool will take that gift. And in a week when Liverpool’s depth was questioned, Klopp’s trio of substitutions at the hour mark when his high-profile offensive lineup of Salah, Firmino and Mane, who had his leg frozen after leaving, took off. further proof of the manager’s confidence in the options available to him.
Liverpool will face tougher tasks this season and will have to play better against more adventurous opponents. Ajax was disappointing. Even after a summer in which their talent pool was further looted with Donny van de Beek, Sergino Dest and Hakim Ziyech advancing, they lined up in an unusual 4-4-2 formation, rather than their usual 4-3. -3. It is in Ajax’s DNA that they never fear the opposition or adapt to them.
Perhaps Erik ten Hag took note of how Leeds United had managed to get under Liverpool’s skin earlier in the season with a similar outlook, but it seemed like a team that was still getting acquainted with their new signings and going through the evolutionary period of the back window. to transfer.
“We did a fantastic job against a very good team. The plan and the implementation were excellent, only the goal was missing,” said Ten Hag after the match. “We create opportunities, but we have to pull the trigger.”
The last time Ajax played Liverpool in Amsterdam was in 1966. Ajax won 5-1 that night in a game that marked the European awakening of Total Football. It was played in thick fog; reports indicate that those on the wrong side of the stadium missed most of the second half. But on Wednesday night Liverpool got some clarity, the skies cleared a bit, and they had an indication of what life is like without their star central defender.
Liverpool were not at their best, but it showed. Klopp will be delighted as they got off to a solid start after a tough week.
