Ajax coach Alfred Schreuder was impressed by Liverpool’s maturity and professionalism during the second half of Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League group-stage win at the Johan Cruyff Arena, speaking via the Liverpool Echo.
Remarkably, this was only Liverpool’s second away win in all competitions this term. Not that you’d have guessed it; Jurgen Klopp’s side strolling through the second ‘45 in the Dutch capital, cruising into the knock-out stages while barely breaking sweat.
A sumptuous Mo Salah finish on the stroke of half-time was followed by two quick-fire strikes the other side of the interval; Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and the aforementioned Egyptian all finding the net in the space of just 10 minutes.
Liverpool qualify for Champions League last-16
“If you look at the second half and how professionally they played, Liverpool played it really well. It was a very hard game against a very hard opponent,” says Schreuder, who replaced Erik ten Hag at Ajax over the summer.
“We were playing at an equal level for 35-40 minutes. As long as you do some things better than Liverpool then you can play against a team like them.
“We had to score one of our chances. We had three obvious chances to go ahead. But after their 1-0, they had even bigger chance to make it 2-0.
“Then, after half-time, the corner goal (from Nunez) was too quick. And it’s a very, very hard game against an experienced team who showed how good they are. The positive thing is the squad stayed together. But the difference in level was simply too big in the second half.”
Jordan Henderson and Andy Robertson produced arguably their finest performances of the season against the Dutch champions, while the oft-maligned Nunez now has four goals in his last four starts.
Ajax playmaker Steven Berghuis – who hit the post almost straight after kick-off last night – singled out Salah’s 42nd minute opener as the decisive moment on Wednesday.
“It could have been so different,” he sighs (AD). “I think we were good in the first half hour. We achieved a good level against a strong team. I get a good chance and then Dusan (Tadic), but we don’t score.
“Mohamed Salah does score with their first chance. I think that’s the difference.”
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