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Liverpool edged past Ajax in their first Champions League game of the season after Nicolas Tagliafico scored a crazy own goal. The Argentine couldn't get his bearings as Sadio Mane cut inside the box and ended up nudging the ball into his own net from barely five yards out.
De Godenzonen never recovered, even though the Reds didn't create many attacking opportunities and weren't particularly dominant either. Here are the five hits and flops from the Johan Cryuff arena.
Hit - Fabinho
Let's get the most obvious one out of the way. Fabinho, starting at the heart of the backline, had an absolute stormer for Liverpool.
Filling in for the injured Virgil van Dijk, the Brazilian stepped up to the plate to ensure the Dutchman isn't missed. His excellent positional awareness and distribution skills kept everything sound at the back.
The wonderful goalline clearance in the first half is what has everyone raving about his performance. Fabinho read the danger and got back quickly to clear Dusan Tadic's chipped effort off the line to keep the score 1-0.
The Reds need not worry about van Dijk's lengthy spell on the sidelines, as long as "Flaco" continues in this vein.
Flop - Liverpool's attack
This was one of those rare outings where none of Liverpool's front three had a particularly great night. Sadio Mane, of course, forced the own goal which proved decisive in the match, but otherwise, there was nothing to write home about his performance either.
Frankly, the Reds never really got out of second gear. Having created few clear-cut chances in the first half, they were content to pass the ball around for much of the second stanza until the introduction of Minamino brought some vigor to the attack.
The young Japanese international took the game to Ajax with his high press and swift movements in dangerous areas, even attempting two good shots. Both were saved by Onana, but at least he brought the visitors really close to extending their lead.
Hit - Andre Onana
Onana was caught completely off guard when Nicolas Tagliafico inadvertently turned the ball into his own net. However, the Cameroonian was fine between the sticks and even pulled off a couple of good saves towards the end when Liverpool pushed for a second goal.
He was on hand to deny Takumi Minamino and Giorginio Wijnaldum in the final minutes of action with some strong stops and even came rushing off his line at times. With a total of six saves on the night, Onana might only regret not capping off a fine evening with a clean sheet.
Flop - Ajax's defense on the break
Ajax pushed for a late equaliser during the final 10 minutes of the game. In the wake of it, they left plenty of gaps at the back for Liverpool to exploit on the break, which they almost did.
James Milner recovered the ball a couple of times in the midfield and broke forward, or laid a long cross for Wijnaldum or Henderson to collect and drive upfield.
This yielded two good counter-attacks from Liverpool. Even though they lacked the final pass to round off the moves (or bumped into Onana), the Dutch outfit won't get lucky everytime.
Perhaps such a situation at Anfield, or even against Atalanta's high-flying forwards, might prove detrimental. They need to be more careful of the spaces left behind while going forward to attack.
Hit - Adrian performed for Liverpool
Don't let the memes about his tackle on Joe Gomez on social media mislead you. Adrian had a fine evening between the sticks for Liverpool.
He produced an excellent reflex save to deny Quincy Promes in the first half, whilst also charging out of his line to punch the ball out of danger and palming away crosses whenever a situation beckoned.
With five saves on the night, the Spaniard, who did look wobbly at times, also registered a clean sheet. After drawing plenty of flak for his disastrous showing in the Aston Villa humiliation, tonight, many of those dissenting voices may have finally subsided.
