It was slow, sloppy and Liverpool still have a lot of room for improvement, but this was a valuable win after Napoli’s slump and with their season already at a critical stage. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring before Quds scored a superb goal for Ajax. Liverpool were beginning to overturn a number of missed chances when Matip finally turned in Kosta Csimika’s corner. After several days of hammering his players with the “absolute truth”, Klopp made four changes to the team responsible for what he described as the worst display of his Liverpool reign at Napoli last week. One was imposed, Kostas Tsimikas in place of the injured Andy Robertson, and three were immediate responses to the disaster in Italy with Joe Gomez, James Milner and Roberto Firmino dropping to the bench. Diogo Jota was selected ahead of summer signing Darwin Nunez as Klopp looked for a more compact, counter-pressing unit to restart Liverpool’s Champions League campaign. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s involvement made him the youngest player in Liverpool history to reach the milestone of 50 European appearances for the club at 23 years and 341 days. There was no Champions League anthem before kick-off and the traditional sound of You’ll Never Walk Alone was abandoned after just a few notes as UEFA and Liverpool commemorated the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II. Anfield was asked to observe a period of silence for the late monarch and, crucially, it was respectfully observed. A shout of “Liverpool” and a few boos were quickly instructed to silence by others in the crowd, with the majority paying their respects in silence. Joél Matip rises above the Ajax defense to make the difference. Photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images Klopp’s call for Liverpool to “reinvent” themselves after Napoli did not lead to a radically different approach, although the improvement was noticeable and immediate. Recalled, fit-again Thiago Alcântara and Jota both had an early impact, while Matip’s runs out of defense helped break Ajax’s lines and put the Dutch champions under constant pressure early on. It paid off when the home side claimed an early lead that should have eased some of the tension inside Anfield. Luis Diaz, one of the few to escape criticism at Napoli, won a towering header from Alisson’s clearance and headed it into Jota’s path. Two Ajax defenders charged at the Liverpool striker but he held them off with ease before releasing Salah inside the penalty area. After seven Champions League games without a goal, his longest drought in the competition, Salah could not have wished for a better chance to end the unwanted run and beat Pasveer with a convincing finish into the corner. Liverpool’s players all joined in the celebrations and it appeared that last week’s self-doubt had been unleashed as they bombarded the Passover goal in search of a second. Diaz dragged a great chance just wide after Virgil van Dijk flicked on Cimica’s free-kick near the penalty spot. Jota tested the Ajax keeper from distance and then set up Salah again having been found in space on the left by the ever-alert Alisson. The scorer hit a shot at the near post. Liverpool’s work rate off the ball also improved and Klopp roared in approval when Csimikas, Diath and Thiago pressured Ajax so successfully that they were forced to play the ball from Dusan Tadic in attack back to Pasver in goal. But just as Liverpool were enjoying their most dominant spell, they were rewarded by Ajax’s speed and intelligence in a rare foray forward. Trouble was created once right-back Devin Rance beat Liverpool’s press with a precise pass to Diaz and Cimica. Edson Álvarez found Daley Blind hugging the opposite flank and the former Manchester United defender sent Steven Berghuis sprinting into the space vacated by Alexander-Arnold. Berghuis curled a cross between Matip’s legs to Steven Bergwijn who was standing unmarked inside the Liverpool penalty area. Mohamed Quds, also unmarked, got onto the ball first, got away from Van Dijk and fired an unstoppable left-footed shot wide of Alisson’s post. It was clear why Ajax refused to sell Kudos to Everton in the recent transfer window after losing Anthony to United. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Liverpool continued to create good openings but, whether from set-pieces or open play, a clinical touch proved elusive. Van Dijk and Matip both sent several attractive headers over the bar or straight at Pasveer, while the Ajax keeper saved well from Alexander-Arnold and Salah. The latter, after Fabinho’s lob found Salah free in the box, rebounded to Harvey Elliott but could only hit the side netting from a difficult angle. The visitors clearly threatened on the counter and should have taken the lead when Tadic picked out Blind with a measured cross at the back post. Blind had time and space to pick his position only to place a header inches wide of the far post, sending manager Alfred Schreuder to his knees in agony. Núñez had an ideal chance to seal victory late on when Salah met the striker inside the area. The Uruguay international pulled his shot wide, but Matip would save Liverpool’s night.
