Ajax 0-1 Liverpool: Who Was Man of the Match?
Liverpool made a solid start to their 2020/21 Champions League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena. It wasn’t the most convincing of wins, with the Reds requiring a strange own-goal from Nicolas Tagliafico to win them the game. Nevertheless, after a couple of scary moments at the back, Liverpool defended quite well and came away with a much-needed clean sheet.
In goal, he was at it again. Adrian made one good save to deny Quincy Promes …
Tactical Breakdown: Ajax 0-1 Liverpool
Despite both clubs' European pedigree, the last competitive game between these two sides was played back in the time of Bill Shankly. Much has changed since then. Nonetheless, football is still football, and tactics are the gameplans employed by managers to produce a particular outcome. These gameplans are often the product of the manager's philosophy, the players available to them and the opposition team, all of which characterised both manager's setups on Wednesday night.
Liverpool set up in their usual …
Klopp praises Fabinho and Joe Gomez central defensive partnership after win at Ajax
Liverpool got their Champions League campaign off to a great start thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Ajax with Fabinho and Joe Gomez forming a solid partnership in central defence.
Fabinho had a particularly good game at centre-half while Joe Gomez also showed a marked improvement in his level of performance. This could be the regular defensive pairing Jürgen Klopp opts for now with Virgil van Dijk gone for the rest of the season.
Nicolás Tagliafico's own-goal in …
Thiago Influence Can Lift Jordan Henderson To Old Self
Jordan Henderson is an extremely versatile player, as we've seen throughout the entirety of his Liverpool career.
Whether it's been as the midfield anchor, as an energetic, box to box tornado of engine room intensity or -- as we saw in his first season with the Reds, under Kenny Dalglish -- as a right midfielder in midfield four, the captain has been a consistent performer for most of the time since his summer 2011 move from Sunderland.
Playing as the …
Ajax 0-1 Liverpool: Player ratings as Reds battle to three Group D points
Liverpool ended their run of three games without a win by doggedly beating Ajax.
Nicolas Tagliafico's clumsy own-goal was ultimately the difference, though Davy Klaassen hit the post and Liverpool spurned opportunities of their own in the closing stages.
Here's how the Reds rated in Amsterdam...
Adrian - 7
It was far from a confident start - the mix-up with Gomez and the flashbacks to the howler at Southampton - and the finish was nervy as well, a flapped punch …
Liverpool Open Group D Campaign With Win
An own goal from Nicolas Tagliafico saw Liverpool open their Champions League Group D campaign with a 1-0 victory away to Ajax.
Far from their best, the Reds -- who played a makeshift centre half pairing of Joe Gomez and Fabinho -- battled their way to a win in a professional rather than purring showing.
It was clear from the opening that the hosts -- so renowned for their offensive style of football -- would endeavour to attack the English …
Fabinho may well be first-choice centre-back in Van Dijk's absence
It's strange to think, but Liverpool's second-best centre-back, after Virgil van Dijk, may well be Fabinho.
This isn't an article having a go at a clearly excellent, but still young and developing Joe Gomez. I'm a huge fan of Gomez as a defender. Still only 23, the former Charlton Athletic player is one of England's best.
Joël Matip is also a very underrated centre-half. The only issue with 29-year-old Matip is keeping him fit for a full season or even …
Virgil Loss Will Be a Huge Blow But Liverpool Are Still Brilliant
Let's get the captain obvious statement out of the way at the beginning, shall we?
Liverpool will miss Virgil van Dijk during his injury lay off, which, per reports, could last anything from six to nine months.
If you could manufacture the perfect centre half in a lab, equipped with elite physical, mental, technical and leadership attributes, then the Reds' towering Dutchman would be the ideal prototype.
Any team -- Barcelona with Lionel Messi, FC Bayern with Robert Lewandowski, to …
Tactical Breakdown: Everton 2-2 Liverpool
Liverpool's goalless draw against Everton back in June - the first game of the restarted league season - was an intriguing affair in which Everton posed a number of tactical questions to Liverpool, and was able to slow down the red juggernaut. With Ancelotti's coaching clearly making a difference to Everton's performance, this game had an exciting tactical dimension to it. Yet despite Everton's superb form leading into this game, it was one which Liverpool dominated, with a number of …
Analysis: Is the Liverpool press failing?
Liverpool's success since the appointment of Jurgen Klopp has been built around the press. Initially, it was full-throttle, relentless and tiring to watch. But as the team evolved, so did the press. Their approach was more meticulous, their approach was more intelligent and they seemed to take a more measured approach to it all.
It made sense. The Reds weren't having to press as often because they now dominated the ball. However, as soon as there was a turnover they'd …