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Three local teenagers stole Liverpool’s attention against Ajax.
LIVERPOOL-AJAX 1-0
Liverpool beat Ajax and secured promotion to the Champions League at home at Anfield on Tuesday night. Curtis Jones won the game with his goal just over half an hour before the end.
The goal came after a big mistake by visiting goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Liverpool struggled at times to make the game run smoothly. Especially in the first half, Ajax had an advantage in the game, even though it was even in the opportunity statistics.
During the break, the experts sat in the TV 2 studio and weren’t impressed by what they saw from the Merseyside team.
– They haven’t existed, said Brede Hangeland.
– Klopp will not be happy with that achievement, continued Trevor Morley.
After a better second half, where several of Liverpool’s youngsters were decisive in the match, Klopp’s mood was completely different. The German was brilliantly pleased with what he saw of his injured team.
– I loved. The players threw themselves into this match. The boys played, really. It feels like one of the biggest nights in the Champions League since I arrived in Liverpool. It was exceptional, says the German after the game.
Ajax took the fight
Liverpool without their first regular goalkeeper Alisson got his first big chance of the match when Curtis Jones shot off the post from about 20 yards.
Although the home team stood out at first, it was the guests from Amsterdam who had a game-play advantage initially.
Noussair Mazraoui tested Champions League rookie Caoimhín Kelleher shortly after half an hour. The Irish goalkeeper had to come out in full force and hit the ball over his left center.
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Five minutes before the break, Perr Schuurs had to resort to illegal means to arrest Sadio Mane. The Liverpool star was played for free and ended in a one-on-one duel with the Ajax cap. Schuurs entered Mane too late and was rewarded with a perfectly correct yellow card.
Ryan Gravenberch hit a shot just before the break, but the shot went a meter above the goal. Thus, the teams walked through the locker room after a gentle first half, where the guests were the leading team in terms of play.
That made former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock react.
– Klopp does not look happy on the bench. You can see him talking to his assistants, wondering about the players’ choices. I expect a strong hiatus from him, possibly also some changes, said Warnock, who is now a BBC expert.
Also read: Premier League: Work permit required for EU and EEA players after Brexit
Liverpool score
Five minutes after the break, former Everton player Davy Klaasen had a great opportunity. A cross from the right left Almeida alone in front of goal in the 80th minute, but his shot went wrong.
After 57 minutes, Ajax got a great double chance. Mazraoui took Kelleher out on the stretch before David Neres hit the rebound off the post from an angle. Close to Ajax management.
The next minute, Andre Onana made a big mistake. A post sailed strangely over the Ajax goalkeeper who miscalculated the total ball court.
Curtis Jones was awake and continued his career. So he got an easy job of putting the ball into the open goal.
Substitute Roberto Firmino had the opportunity to change things. In the 84th minute, Onana seemed a bit hesitant in the game as her organization fell to acceptable.
At the opposite end, Kelleher kept up with an equally great save when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was allowed to go unmarked on the field. The goalkeeper got a great save reaction on the header from five meters.
Ajax pressed for equalization towards the end, but Liverpool held out and secured themselves with further advancement to the playoffs next year.
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