Andy Hunter was at Anfield, and his report is in. You know what to do: clickity click. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Klopp: the kids are alright. “Since I am in Liverpool that is one of the biggest Champions League nights ... for sure without supporters it was the most important, the most difficult and most exceptional game ... the circumstances are tricky, and then how the kids play, Robbo with a proper knock on the ankle, pushing himself through, Hendo with a proper knock on the back, Gini I have no words for him, Curtis Jones, what a game from a 19-year-old boy ... I am really proud of them ... I think Adrian did an incredible job for us last season, clean sheets, Super Cup final ... but now in this game we needed the natural football playing ability of Kelleher, so we made that decision ... I am really happy with how calm and good Kelleher was ... Neco has shown glimpses, he can be even better, but tonight it was all good.”
An extremely content Caoimhin Kelleher speaks to BT Sport. “It was amazing for me to make my debut ... it was massive for me ... [making saves] is what I’m there for, I work every day in training to make sure that I am ready and prepared and thankfully today I was able to make a few good saves ... the players in front of me, when I get the ball they always give me easy options ... [the young players] aren’t just here to take part, we want to play as many games as we can, we’re actually making a difference and we’re improving the team as well ... my phone’s been hopping since I got in, so big thanks for all the support I’ve been getting!”
Jordan Henderson’s verdict. “It was a very tough game, as we knew it would be, but I thought the boys were outstanding ... we deservedly got the win ... we should have scored a few more given the chances we had ... we were unlucky not to win by two or three, but we’re delighted with the three points and also the clean sheet ... Curtis has gambled that the keeper is going to miss it, and it’s a great finish ... we managed the game a little bit better in the second half ... we know the injury problems we’ve got, but the togetherness is big in this dressing room and stuff like this makes us stronger.”
Klopp is ecstatic. Neco Williams is also the recipient of a bear hug from his elated manager. Kelleher and Williams have earned their power-cuddles; both were excellent tonight. See also Curtis Jones, who scored the winner and hammered another shot against the woodwork. It’s been a good night for Liverpool’s kids. Not so great for Ajax’s youngsters: Atalanta’s 1-1 draw with Midtjylland means the Italians leapfrog them into second place. Ajax will now have to beat Atalanta in the final round of fixtures next week if they want to progress. Klopp can do what he likes in the final, dead rubber against the Danes, a match with absolutely nothing resting on it. Expect to see a starting XI that redefines experimental.
FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Ajax
Liverpool have qualified for the knockout phase, beating Ajax thanks to a Curtis Jones goal (and an Andre Onana mistake). They were deserved winners tonight ... and deservedly win Group D as well. Jurgen Klopp runs onto the pitch and heads straight for Caoimhín Kelleher, who made a crucial save near the end. A huge smile, an even bigger hug.
90 min +3: Mane is booked when his arm slaps into the startled coupon of Tagliafico.
90 min +2: Schuurs flings a long one into the mixer. Most un-Ajax. Kelleher comes out to claim with confidence.
90 min +1: Henderson takes one for the team, going in the book for tugging back Gravenberch, who was threatening to break upfield.
90 min: There will be four added minutes.
89 min: Nothing comes of the set piece. Liverpool replace Salah with Rhys Williams.
88 min: Antony swings one in from the right. Huntelaar meets it with his head, six yards out. It’s flashing towards the top right ... but Kelleher makes a fantastic point-blank save, parrying out for a corner!
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86 min: With time running out, Ajax press the kitchen-sink button. Blind and Mazraoui are replaced by Martinez and Huntelaar. May as well go for it.
85 min: Firmino sends Salah away down the right. Salah enters the box and sends a wild effort across the face of goal and towards the left-hand corner flag. The flag belatedly goes up for offside, saving a few blushes.
84 min: Nothing comes of the corner. Liverpool should have put this group to bed ... but Ajax are still in it. One goal, and everything will go to the final matchday.
83 min: Firmino, Henderson and Salah combine crisply down the middle at speed. Suddenly Firmino is free in the box! He should score, but in looking to pass into the bottom right, allows Onana to tip round for a corner.
81 min: Neres has picked up an injury after an accidental clatter into Williams. He’s replaced by Traore.
80 min: Some fine work by Williams down the right, as he spins clear of Tagliafico and sets Liverpool off on the attack. Henderson’s cross evades the eyebrows of Mane by a couple of inches.
79 min: Atalanta have equalised against Midtjylland. It’s 1-1 in Bergamo.
77 min: Robertson barrels down the left at jet speed, entering the box. He’s got four team-mates in the middle, but somehow only finds Blind, who deflects clear.
75 min: Ajax surround Firmino, 25 yards from the Liverpool goal. Firmino somehow slithers out of trouble and races up the middle, his pass this close to releasing Mane down the middle. Schuurs intercepts. That could have been one of the great assists. Wonderful play by Firmino.
73 min: Salah has the ball at his feet inside the Ajax box, but can’t carve out enough space to shoot. Eventually Ajax clear their lines. Liverpool still looking for that elusive second goal and some much-needed breathing space.
72 min: Tadic nearly turns Matip down the left. Just as it looks as though he’ll race clear into the Liverpool box, Matip recovers and pressurises him into running the ball out for a goal kick. Fine defending.
70 min: Labyad comes on for Alvarez. Then Wijnaldum is booked for standing on Tadic’s foot.
69 min: Onana and Blind make a meal of playing out from the back. The ball squirts away to Henderson, who hits a first-time low drive back towards the goal Onana’s not currently guarding. Fortunately for the keeper, the spectacular improvised effort sails wide left.
68 min: Jota is replaced by Firmino.
67 min: Blind sprays a pass right towards Antony, who shuttles down the flank for Mazraoui. Fabinho comes across to block out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
65 min: Salah makes his apologies to Onana. The keeper gets up and he’s good to go again.
64 min: Antony is causing a few problems down the right. He jets infield and whistles a low shot straight at Kelleher. Liverpool go straight up the other end, Salah chasing a long ball down the middle and accidentally clattering Onana as the keeper races out of his box to clear.
62 min: Salah races through the middle. He’s clear! But he’s never quite in control of the ball, and Schuurs nips in to pass back. But his touch is weak, giving Salah another chance! Onana is the hero this time, racing out and smothering. This has been a very entertaining match.
60 min: This is far from over, though. Neres crosses from the left. Klaassen chests down on the penalty spot, and prepares to shoot, only for Fabinho to get in the road, chest down, hold his man off, and hack clear. So close to a quick-fire equaliser.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Ajax (Jones 58)
Williams curls in from a deep position on the right. The ball’s dropping at the far post. Onana comes racing out and misses it altogether. Just as the ball looks like floating out for a goal kick, Jones steers the dropping ball into the unguarded net from the tightest of angles. What an error from Onana! But that was some finish by Jones, who kept his eye on the ball and tucked it away beautifully.
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57 min: Antony cuts in from the right and shoots low towards the bottom left. Kelleher sticks out an arm to save, but the ball squirts left to Neres, who lashes a shot off the post and out for a goal kick. He should have tucked that away, though Williams did extremely well to heave into view and put him off.
56 min: Matip clatters into the back of Tadic, and is fortunate not to follow Blind into the book. Tadic felt that one, and takes a while to get up. But get up he eventually does.
55 min: Blind is booked for a professional bodycheck on Jota.
54 min: Neres one-twos with Tadic down the inside-left channel and flashes a shot into the side netting. The flag goes up late for offside. Mane makes off down the Liverpool left and prepares to shoot, before Schuurs slides in to block. No corner, though, as a late flag goes up again.
52 min: Mane gets to the byline down the left and loops long. The ball’s dropping for Williams, haring in from the right. Williams prepares to meet it on the volley ... but Salah runs across him, getting right in his way. Williams is forced to pause and when he eventually makes a connection, the ball balloons softly towards Onana. It’s not quite clicking for Liverpool up front.
50 min: Ajax should be ahead. Neres reaches the byline on the left and whips towards the near post. Klaassen meets the cross with a header, six yards out, but sends it wide left when it was surely easier to score. Liverpool breathe again.
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49 min: Williams and Henderson combine well down the right. Henderson swings infield for Mane, in loads of space for a couple of seconds. He uses them up and is tackled cleanly by Mazraoui. What a wonderful saving tackle.
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47 min: Salah knocks a simple pass straight out of play. He’s cut a frustrated figure all evening.
Ajax get the second half underway. There have been no half-time changes. “Call me a shell-shocked Liverpool fan but I fully expect this match to be decided by the Dutch legend Van der VAR. Looking at the Ajax bench, I wonder how many Champions League minutes Timber has logged. No more bad name puns, I Promes.” Peter Oh, there, brazenly traipsing all over Mac Millings’ patch.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 0-0 Ajax
Gravenberch glides past Matip down the left and looks for goal. He leans back, the ball sails into the Kop, and that’s the end of an excellent half. As things stand, Liverpool are going through.
45 min: Tagliafico wins a corner off Williams out on the left. Tadic takes. Klaassen eyebrows on at the near post, but Mane clears. There will be one added minute.
44 min: This is great end-to-end fun. First Tadic nearly dinks his way into space in the Liverpool box, but is denied by a last-ditch toe-poke by Fabinho. Then Robertson sails down the left and tries to catch Onana out at his near post, but flahses into the side netting instead.
42 min: Wijnaldum curls a long pass down the right for Mane. Schuur comes across and cleans him out. He’s booked, and perhaps lucky to escape a red, given Mane would have been clear had he got past the defender. The fact he was on the wing, with two other Ajax players tracking back in the middle, probably saved Schuur there.
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40 min: Jota dribbles down the middle. He’s got Jones to his left, Salah to his right. He decides to shoot instead, and is blocked by the very impressive Schuurs.
39 min: Henderson is sent scampering into acres down the middle by a cute Mane backflick. He should probably shoot, but opts to feed Jones to his left. Jones and Robertson over-think it, and eventually give the ball away to Onana.
37 min: Mane backs himself in a footrace with Schuurs down the left. He loses out, something that doesn’t happen too often, as the big young defender keeps up with ease, then stands his ground powerfully as the pair go shoulder to shoulder. A good battle, that. Hard but fair.
35 min: Jota is cynically tugged back by Alvarez, who is lucky not to go into the book. Henderson takes the free kick, just to the right of the D, but blooters it straight into the wall.
33 min: The corner’s worked back up the right wing to Tadic, who curls to the far post. Kelleher comes out and doesn’t reach it. Mazraoui can’t connect with a header from a tight angle, but the flag goes up for offside anyway. Kelleher breathes out in relief.
32 min: Mazraoui is given plenty of time and space, 25 yards out. He fires a rising shot towards the top right. Kelleher tips round the post at full stretch. A good-looking save, albeit one he should have made.
31 min: The game’s gone a wee bit scrappy.
29 min: Robertson’s back on and running at full speed.
27 min: Robertson goes down again. He takes off his left boot and sock. The physio tapes his foot and ankle. Looks like he’ll be good to continue, but Kostas Tsimikas warms up, just in case.
25 min: Liverpool have lost some of their early verve. Ajax are growing in confidence: their possession stat is now up to 64 percent.
23 min: Another chance created down the Ajax left. Tadic crosses this time. Klaassen hares in but somehow fails to make contact with his head, six yards out. Robertson hacks out for a corner; nothing comes of the set piece.
21 min: Neres whips a cross in from the left. Klaassen meets it with a strong header, eight yards out, but Kelleher blocks well. The flag goes up for offside, but that’ll give the debutant keeper a boost.
20 min: Midtjylland have gone a goal up at Atalanta. That’s got the potential of shaking up Group D.
19 min: Antony cuts in from the right and tries to curl one into the top-left corner. He finds the top-left corner of the Kop.
18 min: Onana is this close to having the ball taken off his toe by Salah. Ajax don’t half take some chances playing out from the back. They make Manchester City look like a John Beck side.
17 min: Ajax have enjoyed 59 percent of possession so far; Liverpool have looked more likely to create chances.
15 min: Mane drives in from the left then plays a clever reverse pass down the channel. Had Salah read his intentions, he’d have been one on one with Onana, but he makes the run too late and the keeper gathers.
13 min: Mane very nearly busts clear down the middle. Just as he tries to muscle his way into the Ajax box, he goes over, Schuurs right on his shoulder. Mane wants the penalty, but he’s not getting one, having only been lightly brushed.
12 min: Ah, better news for Liverpool, as Robertson appears to have run off his sore foot.
11 min: Antony and Robertson come together in the midfield. Robertson, the only member of Liverpool’s defence to have stayed healthy all season, screams in anguish and then limps about awhile. It’s been that sort of season for Liverpool.
9 min: Jota dribbles purposefully down the left and reaches the byline, but under pressure from a relentless Schuurs, runs the ball out of play. Goal kick.
8 min: Jota and Salah race into the Ajax half, two on one. They should work it out, but Salah’s run isn’t inviting and Jota’s eventual pass is poor. Eventually the ball is teed up for Wijnaldum, who shoots from distance. Blocked. A huge chance spurned.
6 min: This is shaping up to be a cracker. Jones snatches the ball off Klaassen and sends Salah scampering down the inside right. Salah reaches the edge of the box, checks, and tees up Jones, who curls a superb shot towards the top right ... but off the post. That was hit with some venom, and it’s so unlucky for the young midfielder. Onana was rooted to the spot, beaten all ends up.
5 min: Ajax look in the mood. Klaassen spreads wide, right to left, for Neres, who cuts back for Tadic. Fabinho reads well, intercepting and clearing.
4 min: Neres wins the first corner of the evening, sashaying down the left. Ajax play it short, then Neres sends a cross into the mixer. Schuurs tries to steer a header into the top left, but it’s over the bar, and turns out a few Ajax players were offside anyway, Liverpool’s defence pushing out cleverly.
2 min: A nice open feel to the game already, as Fabinho looks long, then Mazraoui probes down the right. Liverpool come straight back at Ajax, Jota nearly breaking clear down the middle and teeing up Jones, who sidefoots powerfully straight at Onana.
Liverpool get the ball rolling ... but only after the players take a knee. Black lives matter. There’s no room for racism. Ajax are kicking towards the Kop in this first half.
The teams are out! Liverpool wear their famous red shirts, while Ajax play in third-choice black. We’ll be off in a minute, just after the Champions League anthem. Young Caoimhin Kelleher listens to it in a pensive mood. “It’s not a huge surprise Adrian didn’t get the nod,” begins Stephen Carr. “He’s as good as a goal against unfortunately. And a quick word on Alisson: I’ve never known such an injury prone goalie.” How quickly we forget the fitness travails of poor old Chris Kirkland.
Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar, formerly of Fulham and Manchester United, explains how the Dutch giants go about their business. “We deliver players from the academy to the first team. They give us two or three years of success, then take the next step up - I did it myself, Marc Overmars did it also - our league is not strong enough so if you want to become a really great player you have to make the next step. For us that gives us the possibility for the new breed. But we have changed our philosophy a little bit, by also adding quality on the top - for example Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind - so we have more experience around the young players. We are really proud if Ziyech plays well for Chelsea, De Ligt at Juventus, or De Jong at Barcelona, it’s a good advertisement for us a a club and how we develop players.”
Jurgen Klopp talks to his old mate Des Kelly on BT Sport. It doesn’t kick off this time. All friendly smiles. “I expect both teams to play better than [the first leg]. It was the first time for a long time without Virgil and so we couldn’t exactly play the football we wanted to play. We had big counterattacking chances which we didn’t use, and had to clear one ball off the line. It was a tight game and I expect that again. Alisson is not Covid, it’s something we have to mention. He told us he felt his hamstring in the 60th, 70th minute of the last game. It’s a little one, but enough for today, and probably for another week, 10 to 14 days. I know Caoimhín for five years, he is improving, and a football-playing goalie, a good shot-stopper. My job is to make decisions. Ajax teams are always really skilled, so we have to give them a proper fight. We want to work for the advantage.”
Nine of the 11 players who started for Ajax against Liverpool in Amsterdam do so again today. The two exceptions: the injured Mohammed Kudus, and Lisandro Martinez, who drops to the bench. Antony and midfielder Edson Alvarez start in their place. Rumoured Liverpool transfer target Perr Schuurs plays in the centre of defence, and may or may not size up the joint this evening, depending on the veracity of the gossip.
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No Alisson for Liverpool. The number one has a tight muscle in his leg, and sits it out as a precaution. Caoimhín Kelleher gets the nod ahead of Adrian; the 22-year-old keeper makes his Champions League debut. He’s one of five changes to the team that drew 1-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend. As BT Sport’s Des Kelly ascertained on Saturday, James Milner is hamstrung. Takumi Minamino and Roberto Firmino drop to the bench, while Nat Phillips is ineligible. Joel Matip, Curtis Jones, Sadio Mane and captain Jordan Henderson step up.
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The teams
Liverpool: Kelleher, Neco Williams, Matip, Fabinho, Robertson, Jones, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Jota, Salah, Mane.
Subs: Firmino, Adrian, Minamino, Tsimikas, Origi, Rhys Williams, Jaros, Cain, Clarkson.
Ajax: Onana, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Tagliafico, Alvarez, Klaassen, Gravenberch, Antony, Tadic, Neres.
Subs: Stekelenburg, Timber, Klaiber, Huntelaar, Promes, Scherpen, Ekkelenkamp, Labyad, Martinez, Traore.
Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany).
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Preamble
Form’s a funny old thing. In the Premier League, Liverpool haven’t won away from home in their last four attempts, but have put in some blistering performances at Anfield, as Arsenal and Leicester City can attest. In Europe, however, they look much better on the road: they were impressively resolute in Amsterdam and imperious at Atalanta, but struggled to see off the minnows of Midtylland and didn’t click at all last week against the Italians. Good luck predicting which Liverpool will turn up tonight.
Ajax on the other hand have gone through the gears since that defeat at home to Liverpool. They’ve won seven of their subsequent eight matches to the aggregate tune of 38-6. Thirty-eight goals in eight games! Admittedly that total was boosted by a record-breaking 13-0 win over VVV Venlo, but hitting five on three occasions and three on a couple more is no mean feat in such a short period of time. Liverpool will have a problem or two to solve this evening.
The rewards for solving them are big. Win tonight and Liverpool can take the last match of the group, away in Denmark, easy. Anything else, though, and it’ll still be all up for grabs. A ludicrous injury list doesn’t help matters, but Jurgen Klopp has pulled plenty of rabbits out of the hat before. This could be a humdinger. It could have huge implications for Liverpool’s festive period, and perhaps their whole season. It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm GMT.
