Post Match: Liverpool v Ajax (UCL 1/12/20 8pm)

That´s better. Kelleher looked sound and the defence seemed to trust him. Nico seemed to be struggling a little until he laid on the goal then his confidence went up and he played well after that.
Curtis Jones was brilliant. Apart from being an attacking force was often helping out defensively and competing in MF. Hard to believe he is not going to get MOTM.

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Must say, I wasn’t too impressed with him. He did match Mane a few times and did well but on plenty of other occasions he made poor decisions.

Our first chance of the game came from his poor clearing header.
He should have been sent off for his tackle on Mane.
Went walkabout for the Firmino chance and left a big hole in the defence.
He set up Salah for a 1 on 1 with a backpass that was 5 yards short.

That’s just off the top of my head. He’s got some decent attributes but I didn’t see two great performances against us if I’m honest.

I thought Ajax were extremely lucky our front 3 were so off form last night, it could have been fives and sixes on another day.

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Much has been said about Perr Schuurs and how he kept Sadio in check. Now maybe he is a really good player. But Sadio been running on fumes. I would love to see how Perr Schuurs performs if Sadio have a week between games.

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Kelleher played on his CL debut with the authority and confidence of someone who has been doing it for years and looked closer to the standards set by Alisson than Adrian ever has. A proper Liverpool goalkeeper.

Curtis Jones got the winning goal, hit the post, covered every blade of grass and put himself about like a seasoned pro. Outside of Liverpool he may not be as considered as much as a rising star as Gravenberch for example, but on yesterday’s evidence he’s a better prospect. Only a year older, plays for a far better team in a far more difficult league and has everything needed to succeed.

Neco Williams had been struggling to put it mildly but against Ajax he showed why he’s considered as an option by Klopp. Really, really solid for him both at the back and going forward, he looked much more at ease and he got the assist for the winner. Perhaps what he’s missing was simply game time and now that he’s getting it he’s coming to terms with the speed and the physicality at the top level.

Lastly, a tip of the hat to Ajax. Can’t help but admire them for their principles and the way they play football in general. Yes they have some glaring weaknesses but they try to play the right way. There are a lot of teams that could take a leaf out of their book.

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No we don’t need a mediocre defender for 30m who should have been sent of by a proper referee just like Mané with his elbow. No, I go with young Williams and Phillips and safe the money for a good CB.

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Yet again, I didn’t celebrate the goal because I was waiting for it to be disallowed. Even when Jones was being congratulated by the other players, I wasn’t convinced. There’s no point punching the air and running around the room, 2 minutes after the ball hits the net. Where’s the enjoyment gone?

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Zero complaints from me on last night, in fact I doubt I can bring myself to muster any sort of criticism of the players this season going forward. The whole thing is screwed up.

I’ll save my criticism for those that schedule the fixtures, stupid refereeing decisions and of course the idiocy that is the ruining of a great idea in VAR

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Agree on Henderson Motm he helped Neco so much and they did fantastic done our right, overall if our front 3 had been firing we should have won comfortably

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Millie and Robbo were right to express what a lot of fans feel.

Imagine being in the ground (when we’re all allowed back) and the crowd not celebrating goals , because that’s the way it’s heading.

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An amazing win! - the kids are alright, aren’t they? Voted for Kelleher, Jones, Neco for MOTM (in that order). Felt really confident with Kelleher in goal. Did everything right, the saves, the distribution, handling the pressure (it helps so much that he can do both feet, but his timing is also excellent, not taking that extra few moment that makes it risky).

Jones is really maturing, and is the positive thing coming out of our injury woes-opportunity to give him the minutes to do that. He could have scored 2 or even 3 last night. I really think he’s here for the long run.

And it becomes evident that what Neco needed was the appropriate midfield to support him at this moment/age, and having Henderson to protect him made all the difference. I remember Trent’s first couple of years seeing the same thing, and comments about that, and ffw a few years later that’s not so much of an issue anymore, especially with the midfield supporting the fullbacks, as it’s not just a matter of age/inexperience, but also a matter of how we play the fullbacks in Klopp’s system.

A massive win that one, and now we can “rest” in an otherwise very crazy period, which is really such a luxury. I can’t imagine surviving without a rest like that.

So or the next game, Koumetio and Sepp maybe at CB, Tsimikas just for the game time, and if Trent returns then maybe Neco can complete the back four selection.
Minamino and Origi up front, to show Klopp whether they can be relied upon, along with a kid maybe-no idea if we have someone that can feature there.

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Banzaaaaaaa!

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When you put it like that… :clap::clap::clap: hats off to him.

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That was brilliant, from Hendo to the youngsters. Very proud. Kelleher was immense.

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If any Ajax player had put in the performance Curtis Jones did last night you wouldn’t have heard the commentators stop going on about him. If he played for Utd there would a nation campaign to get him into the England squad.

The lad is really, really good.

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The longer he goes without an England call up the better! :grinning:

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Yeah Jones made the step up complete last night, conducts himself like a permanent first 11 player. Had some great touches, never looked in trouble, hit the post with a screamer and scored the winner. MOM, closely followed by Kelleher.

I suspect, the previous week, we did not show Atalanta the respect they deserved, because of their woeful home performance earlier in the tournament, it just suited us to sit back, added with the fatigue and injuries we have. One of the only mentality failings I can remember. That was corrected last night, and the machine continues on.

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Dunno something else about last night, like Atlanta was a bit of a wake up, I think the Leicester result didn’t help.

That’s the thing, I don’t think Atlanta are that good.

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And the fact he didn’t keep Sadio in check at all. He beat him once in a footrace down the sideline where he outmuscled Mane. Mane responded by repeatedly beating him, including forcing him into what should have been a red card tackle.

He reminds me a lot of that defender they had who went to Juventus. Great for his age, really physical but I don’t see much “natural” defending in his game intelligence - his positioning was not good at all. Having said that, he shows the promise of someone who can be developed but I’m not sure I’d bother with another developmental defender when we already have Gomez (who is further along), Phillips, Williams, van den Berg and Koumetio.

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He’s not English…

He’s Scouse…

Trent is no longer the only scouser in the team…

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