Jurgen Klopp breathed a sigh of relief as Liverpool bounced back from their defeat against low-key Nottingham Forest in the Premier League to earn an all important win against Ajax in the Champions League. Goals from Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliot saw-off the defending Dutch champions as the Reds secured their Round of 16 qualification with a game in hand. However, it was Liverpool’s club record signing Nunez who grabbed all the headlines.
Although the former Benfica man was on the score-sheet, it could have more than just one goal on the night for him. Nunez missed an opportunity in front of an open net from a Bobby Firmino pass in the 43rd minute, as the Uruguayan hit the woodwork. Even the Ajax players would have been surprised at the striker’s miss as he failed to convert a n obvious scoring opportunity. Klopp then addressed the horrendous miss from his player in the post-match presser.
Klopp says Darwin Nunez was ‘surprised’ to see Firmino pass the ball than take a shot
After a shaky start which saw Ajax put Liverpool backline under immense pressure and even hit the woodwork right in the 2nd minute, the Reds gradually got back in the game. It was a silky out-of-the-foot pass from Jordan Henderson to Mohamed Salah, who brilliantly struck the ball on the half-volley to put the visitors in front in the 42nd minute. A minute later, Darwin Nunez was served on a platter a golden chance to open his account on the night by Firmino.
Andy Robertson burst with a run from the left flank as he released the Brazilian alone on the Ajax goal. However, instead of taking a shot himself, Firmino squared the ball to Nunez who was free in front of the goal. The 23-year-old was caught by surprise as he somehow tried to push the ball in the back of the net, only to scramble it on the woodwork. Talking about the miss in his press conference after the game, Klopp told BT Sport:
“I think even he [Darwin Nunez] was surprised! [when Firmino passed for the shot on the woodwork]. He had a really good game in both directions, helped defending and played with a big heart today so hopefully we took him off early enough!”
Nonetheless, Nunez did make up for his horrible miss as he scored a brilliant header right at the start of the second half from an Andy Robertson corner. The goals meant the £85 million man has now scored 4 goals in last his last 5 games in all competitions. Klopp would have been relieved to see his striker score, given the rough start he has had at the club. The German further explained the changes in his tactical set-up, as he started both Nunez and Firmino to help the summer recruit. He added:
“We obviously changed system again a little bit. We had to. We thought it made sense that it was rather a diamond than a 4-3-3. Then it’s new again for the boys, but we didn’t want to have Darwin constantly on the wing, we wanted him more central. That’s why we set it up slightly different.”
The changes evidently helped Nunez who got on the score-sheet and created more threat. Harvey Elliot rounded-off the scoreline by adding a third in the 52nd minute as Liverpool booked their knockout berth. However, the Reds will be placed in the Pot 2 for the Round of 16 draw as they are slated to finish second in their Group A behind Napoli. That leaves them with potential opponents in Club Brugge or Porto [from Group B], Real Madrid or Leipzig [from Group F], PSG or Benfica [from Group H] and old foes Bayern Munich.