Ajax 0-3 Liverpool
Liverpool provided the point they needed to advance to the Champions League knockout stages with one match left after a convincing win Ajax last night in the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Mohamed Salaha fit-again Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott scored the goals for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who left last weekend’s dire 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
But only after riding their luck in Amsterdam with Steven Berghuis hitting the base of the right post for Ajax with only Alisson beating out after two minutes.
The Brazilian goalkeeper saved Jorge Sanchez’s blast, while Trent Alexander-Arnold made a crucial block from ex-Southampton player Dusan Tadic.
The Reds barely got going but there was only one side in it after Salah pulled in Jordan Henderson’s fine pass to break the deadlock after 42 minutes.
And it should have been 2-0 before halftime, but Nunez managed to hit the post when it seemed easier to convert a Roberto Firmino cross. But the Uruguayan striker was celebrating four minutes after the restart when he glanced into the corner of Andrew Robertson.
Three minutes later, teenager Elliott, who also scored in Rangers’ 7-1 drubbing on the final round of play, added a third place finish by shooting Salah’s excellent pass into the roof of the net.
Klopp’s smile soon faded as Henderson held onto his knee after Edson Alvarez’s challenge that left the midfielder limping.
But the German will be more than happy to reach the last 16 with a final group stage match against undefeated leaders Napoli at Anfield next week.
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