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One of the bigger fixtures from matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League saw a resurgent Liverpool side outperform free-flowing Ajax in a close encounter on Wednesday night. As things stand, Erik ten Hag's men are 3rd while Liverpool sits 2nd in Group D, courtesy of Atalanta's immaculate 4-0 win against Midtjylland.
It would be safe to say that Ajax comfortably dominated the early minutes of the game. A furious Jurgen Klopp was Liverpool's most aggressive character on the pitch by some distance, as the players rather struggled to get hold of Ajax. However, the away side gradually got into their groove and finished the second half on top thanks to an unfortunate Tagliafico own goal.
Ajax came into the second half stronger than the visitors but yet again, they were unable to find the back of the net. Davy Klaassen rattled the bar with a fierce right-footed shot in the early minutes of the second half.
Jurgen Klopp made 3 substitutions in the second half to replace his lethal front 3 of Firmino, Salah and Mane as Liverpool held on to secure a narrow 1-0 victory.
Ajax player ratings:
André Onana: 8/10
Calm and composed, Onana made sure Ajax were always on their toes whenever a counter-attacking chance arose. The Cameroonian, with his incredible range of passing, was able to kick start attacks from his own goal as Ajax looked to take advantage of Liverpool's defensive vulnerability.
The hosts only conceded 4 shots on target, making Onana's duties much easier. The 24-year-old's biggest moment was when he almost came till the halfway line to stop Diogo Jota, ending the attack right where it started.
Nicolás Tagliafico: 5/10
Scoring the winner for Liverpool, Tagliafico had a bad day at the office today. The 28-year-old scored an own goal in the 35th minute of the game, which was a poor piece of defensive work by the Argentinian.
It seemed to have killed Tagliafico's confidence as he went on to complete 0 crosses, a weak passing accuracy of 74% and completing zero duels on the pitch.
Lisandro Martínez: 7/10
To be honest, Ajax deserved something from the game. Liverpool's potent front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah were taken off in the 60th minute.
Liverpool's attack was blunt and Martinez looked pretty untroubled for most of the game.
Perr Schuurs:6/10
Schuurs and Martinez played much of their 90 minutes in a very high line, like they usually do, and surprisingly, kept Liverpool's front three incredibly quiet. However, Schuurs did have a few nervy moments at the back.
Noussair Mazraoui: 7/10
A move away from the Netherlands certainly looks on the cards for the young fullback, as he dropped another quality performance in an Ajax shirt for Erik ten Hag.
It was another evening of brilliance as the attacking right-back dominated the right side of the pitch with ease. If 5 tackles and 3 interceptions to his name were not enough, the 22-year-old completed 5 duels and 3 long balls as well, to sum up, a complete performance.
Davy Klaassen: 6/10
The best chance of the night undoubtedly fell to Klaassen as the 27-year-old looked to bring changes to the scoreline. The former Everton midfielder rattled the inside of the post with a venomous shot.
Excluding the opportunity, Klaassen was heavily involved in the build-up for Ajax. In 70 minutes of football, he completed 43 touches and had a passing accuracy of 88%
Daley Blind: 7/10
A perfect no.6's performance, Daley Blind put in an amazing shift vs Liverpool to keep the Premier League champions at bay. The midfielder barely broke into a sweat and reduced Firmino's involvement during attacks by a huge margin.
Ryan Gravenberch: 6/10
The 18-year-old would be satisfied with his performance against a team like Liverpool, but the midfielder was not able to impose himself and involve himself in the Ajax attack regularly.
Gravenberch seems like a player who is going to bring in loads of millions for Ajax sooner rather than later; a player who possesses every quality to become an elite box to box midfielder in the future.
David Neres: 7/10
2 chances created, 4 dribbles completed, 5 duels won and 100% of his crosses completed. You possibly cannot ask a better performance than this against arguably the best English team at the moment.
David Neres was Ajax's biggest threat and Robertson did not have a good time trying to stop the 23-year-old. In the end, the latter was on the winning side while Neres saw his chances created wasted on the pitch.
Mohammed Kudus: N/A
Injured under 5 minutes. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Dušan Tadić: 6/10
An intelligent forward who always loves bringing others into the game, Tadić was happier in providing his teammates better chances to get on the end upon, than go for it himself.
However, a moment of brilliance from Fabinho took away Tadić's equaliser for Ajax, which was indeed a chance of immense quality. Overall, Tadić did what his manager demanded from him; allow players alongside him to make deep runs and feed them, but the captain could've done more.
Ajax substitutes:
Quincy Promes: 6/10
The receiver of the most clear-cut chance of the night, Quincy Promes had the keys to revive his team from a losing position. While massive credit to Adrian for saving it, Promes hitting the ball straight onto his feet did not seem like the best way to test the Liverpool goalkeeper.
The 28-year-old replaced Kudus in the 7th minute of the game and although Promes did miss a golden chance, the Dutchman was instigating attacks and running down the channels quite efficiently compared to his teammates.
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp: 5/10
Replaced Klaassen. Did the basics right. That's pretty much it.
Lacina Traore: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Liverpool player ratings:
Adrián: 7/10
One can blame Adrián for plenty of stuff, but last night was a game where he stepped up for Liverpool and the Spaniard deserves credit for that. While he was unconvincing with the ball at his feet, the 33-year-old made sure he was competent at shot-stopping.
A vital save to deny Quincy Promes from 6 yards out was one of the few very important saves Adrian made against Ajax, and that must act as a massive confidence booster for him and his centre-backs.
Andy Robertson: 7/10
Liverpool's backline was reliable on the night, despite not having Virgil Van Dijk, and Robertson was no different. While he did struggle against the marauding Mazraoui and David Neres, the former Hull City man was equally threatening on the other side of the pitch, overlapping consistently and playing Mane through in space.
Robertson is someone who understands what it means to play in the channels, and the Champions League winning fullback knew how to exploit the weaknesses in Ajax's backline.
Joe Gomez: 8/10
Jürgen Klopp's men travelled to Amsterdam with one fit centre-back and he did not disappoint. In the absence of a world-class centre back like Van Dijk, alongside whom Gomez has played almost his entire Liverpool career, the 23-year-old CB certainly took up part of the leadership as Liverpool kept a clean sheet against a very efficient attacking side.
With 10 clearances, 4 interceptions and 6 long balls completed, Joe Gomez made sure he performed his part in helping Liverpool secure a much-needed win vs Ajax.
Fabinho: 9/10
A man of the match performance from Fabinho in a position which he is not natural at is becoming too common a sight. The last time he won the MOTM was again as a CB vs Chelsea when he had new boy Timo Werner in check.
Last night, it was Dušan Tadić's turn. The 31-year-old had to stray away 5 yards to receive the ball as Fabinho marked him tight whenever he entered the box. Fabinho at CB is a prospect slowly gathering pace and reliability.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 7/10
After an average defensive outing against Everton, Trent Alexander-Arnold made sure he answered his critics this time, as the 22-year-old dropped a bright performance on the evening to make sure he is still very much a part of discussions about the best right-backs in Europe.
Klopp was an angry man throughout the game, and a lot of it was poured at Alexander-Arnold for not pressing adequately and closing down space. Certainly, the gaffer was more relaxed watching his young fullback come back in the second half.
James Milner: 7/10
It's 2020, and a 34-year-old James Milner starts for Premier League champions Liverpool in an away game in the Champions League. What's even more fascinating is the fact that he is more often than not of the best players on the pitch, far from being a liability or a "stop-gap".
The Englishman completed a staggering 74 touches in just 90 minutes of football, suggesting he was very much a part of everything that went forward for Liverpool. While being defensively sound, Milner completed nearly 8 duels in the opposition half, rounding off a perfect captain's performance.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 5/10
The Dutch midfielder was assigned to be the #6 of Liverpool's midfield in absence of Fabinho and Thiago Alcântara and although the 29-year-old did not do anything wrong, maybe Wijnaldum could've done a bit more in terms of protecting his backline from Ajax's central penetration.
Wijnaldum recorded brilliant statistics went it came to passing, completing 91% of his passes but his defensive contribution was close to non-existent. The midfielder ended with zero tackles and interceptions against a side who relies on vertical passing and attacking midfielders.
Curtis Jones: 5/10
Young Curtis wasn't up for the midfield battle at the Johan Cruyff Arena and Klopp had to bring on Jordan Henderson for the second half to see out the game. Curtis Jones had a quiet game; he stuck to his basics but was often found hiding and not providing a passing option when Liverpool played out from the back.
Sadio Mané: 8/10
Another away day, another elite Sadio Mane performance. The Senegalese had done his homework coming into the game and it showed, as he got the better of Mazraoui, exploring the space in behind left by the fullback and catching Ajax's defenders in 1v1 situations.
Sadio Mane's tame attempt at goal was followed by a poor attempt at clearing the ball by Tagliafico, eventually guiding the ball to his own net. In the end, Mane's contribution was decisive.
Roberto Firmino: 6/10
Firmino continued doing what he does best; getting in between the lines in midfield, exploiting the space in and around Blind and making blindsided runs into the box to open up space behind him.
Although his performances this season have been far from what his fans expect, Klopp seems to be content with how Firmino has been carrying out his predominant role, for now.
Mohamed Salah: 5/10
Mohamed Salah would've wished to get on the scoresheet on a night which meant the world to him. Evidently, he was not happy to see himself getting subbed off at the 60-minute mark, but it seemed as though Klopp had it pre-planned for the game.
A below-average performance by his standards, Salah struggled to take on players down the right flank while also not taking his chances in front of goal. The 'Egyptian King' would look to get himself firing as soon as possible.
Liverpool substitutes:
Jordan Henderson: 6/10
The sole reason for his substitution was to bring a bit more energy, composure and experience into midfield. Ajax overran Liverpool in the middle of the park quite easily, but it wasn't the case in the second half, as Liverpool were more compact and Henderson played a huge part in seeing out the game, as he was told to.
Takumi Minamino: 6/10
Risky but interesting substitutions from the Liverpool head coach as he replaced his front three with the likes of Jota, Minamino and Shaqiri, in an attempt to provide fresh legs upfront. The plan successfully worked, as Liverpool comfortably bagged the three points against Ajax.
Diogo Jota: 7/10
The new signing was full of running and endeavour and caused the stretched Ajax backline quite a lot of problems.
Xherdan Shaqiri: 6/10
The Swiss superstar was neat on the ball and also tracked back when required. He will be looking to stay fit and make more of an impact in the coming games.
Rhys Williams: N/A
