Joel Matip’s last-gasp winner over Ajax secured Liverpool’s first win of their UEFA Champions League campaign. After winning only their third match this season, Jurgen Klopp was mighty relieved from the response his squad put in tonight.
He said this to BT Sport after the match, “We understood what we had to do tonight – we had to put a completely different shift into the game and the boys did that. It was the response we wanted.”
Liverpool were lacking intensity over their past few games. It was shocking to see that they were outrun in all of their matches this season, which was unusual for our high-pressure system.
This match was certainly a step in the right direction as Liverpool outran their opponents for the first time this season. It wasn’t much, but it was sign of improvement as the Reds ran 0.29km more than Ajax.
— SimonBrundish (@SimonBrundish) September 13, 2022
Jurgen Klopp is incredibly happy that his side won the match to improve the mood in the dressing room as we approach a long break. Liverpool’s fixture against Chelsea this weekend has been postponed and will only play again after the international break.
Klopp told BT Sport after the game, “It was a nice celebration and showed everything the boys wanted. Now we have a strange break so we have to hope and pray that they come back healthy. Brighton is waiting.”
Poor Defending Still An Issue Despite The Win
Despite the win, we can’t overlook how simple it was for Ajax to equalise through Mohammed Kudus’ wonder strike. The Dutch side scored from their only shot on target. Many people pointed out Trent’s poor defensive awareness to let the ball in behind and his lack of pressing after his error.
However, Klopp assured us that it was a normal occurence. He told BT, “I will have to watch it back – you can’t avoid all balls in behind – it will always happen – we just don’t concede all of the time – it’s about conceding a chance and getting back to how it should have been – that is what we did tonight.”
Watch Jurgen Klopp’s full interview with BT Sport here.
FT thoughts from the boss 👇 @btsportfootball pic.twitter.com/DTZIAkeJ5b
— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) September 13, 2022
