• Kudus Mohammed had an amazing and scintillating performance in their away defeat to Liverpool at the Anfield in the UEFA Champions League.
• The Ghanaian international scored the consolation goal for Ajax with powerful and majestic strike in the first half.
Manager Jurgen Klopp demanded a reaction to the “horror show” of the 4-1 defeat away to Napoli in their opening Group A game and this was certainly a vast improvement.
Liverpool created plenty of openings and were deservedly ahead after 17 minutes when Mohamed Salah swept home Diogo Jota’s pass.
Ajax had barely threatened but were level 10 minutes later when Mohammed Kudus thumped in an emphatic finish off the underside of the bar after he was played in by Steven Berghuis.
Liverpool created chances in front of The Kop – while Daley Blind missed a great chance to put Ajax ahead late on – before Matip rose to head home from a corner in the closing moments.
Liverpool needed to respond to the debacle of Napoli and while they were nowhere near their best this was all about getting the result and getting this season’s Champions League show on the road.
It looked for a long while that Ajax’s composed, unhurried style, along with Liverpool’s lack of cutting edge, might mean another disappointment before Matip rose to score.
It meant a vital three points for last season’s beaten finalists and the start of the recovery from the opening in Italy that Klopp labelled the worst performance of his reign at Anfield.
Before the game, there was a short period of silence in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and while there were a handful of dissenting voices shouting out, they were hushed by the vast majority of those inside Anfield, who observed the tribute respectfully.
Once the action started, match-winner Matip and Thiago Alcantara were the key to Liverpool’s improvement, the defender not only strong at the back but adding quality with his ability to bring the ball out of defence before picking the right pass.
The former Schalke defender’s decisive late contribution capped an outstanding display.
Thiago’s ability to dictate the tempo and find colleagues has been sorely missed while he has been injured and his performance was a signpost to how important he will be as Liverpool try to recover from an indifferent start to their season.
