Liverpool put Saturday's woes behind them with an impressive 3-0 win over Ajax at the Johan Cruyff ArenA to reach the last-16 of the Champions League.
The Reds reacted brilliantly to a heavy 4-1 defeat in Naples in game week one to win their next four European matches and secure their spot in the knockout rounds once again.
Mohamed Salah continued his fine scoring form in the Champions League as he opened the scoring late in the first half before Darwin Nunez doubled Liverpool 's lead in the second period. Harvey Elliott ensured the points would be coming back to Anfield with a fantastic finish.
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Plenty of national media outlets were in attendance to watch Liverpool's win. Here is a round-up of what they had to say.
Andy Hunter, via The Guardian
"The Champions League has brought familiar comfort in a season of maddening inconsistency for Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool secured their place in the knockout stage with a game to spare, their troubled away form and injury problems forgotten as Ajax were ultimately eased aside in Amsterdam.
"Mohamed Salah opened the scoring shortly before the interval to move a step closer to becoming Liverpool’s all-time leading goalscorer in European football. Liverpool had been second best until that point but with one delicate flick Salah changed the complexion of the entire night. Ajax, after a determined start that should have delivered a two-goal lead, wilted on the spot. Two second‑half goals in quick succession from Darwin Nunez – his fourth in his past four starts – and Harvey Elliott consolidated second place in Group A behind the rampant leaders Napoli.
"The roles will be reversed should Liverpool beat the Italian club by a four‑goal margin at Anfield next week. The opportunity may feel like a luxury to Klopp after the way this Champions League campaign opened in Naples. The response to that 4-1 reverse has been an emphatic demonstration of Liverpool’s European experience and pedigree."
Chris Bascombe, via The Telegraph
"Welcome to the weird and wacky world of Liverpool’s 2022-23 season.
"Occasionally it has been terrible. Often it has been as wonderful, as ever in keeping with the Jurgen Klopp era. Sometimes the moods have swung wildly on the same evening.
"By full time in the Johan Cruyff Arena this European night carried the magnitude of some of Klopp’s most notable away wins. The stature of the venue, the importance of the result and the margin of the victory means it cannot be overestimated – especially given Liverpool's debilitating injury list. They came to Amsterdam needing a point and looked vulnerable for 34 minutes. Then Klopp was again indebted to the wizardry of Mohamed Salah and Ajax wilted as Darwin Nunez continued his goal streak and Harvey Elliott erased any doubt about Liverpool’s progress in a ten minute blitz either side of half time.
“To overcome difficulties and develop into your best self is very helpful,” said Klopp. “It is all about getting through and we scored wonderful goals.”
Richard Jolley, via The Independent
"It was a journey from ignominy to respectability. It is the story of Liverpool’s group, starting with the worst performance of Jurgen Klopp’s reign, before a run of four successive wins constituted such a fine salvage job that qualification was secured with a game to go. It was a theme of Liverpool’s night, with a wretched first 35 minutes giving way to an emphatic victory over Ajax.
"It was the tale of Darwin Nunez’s evening, too. His first half brought an extraordinary miss, his second a rather more forgettable finish but the Uruguayan’s fourth goal in five games was the second of three Liverpool scored in an 11-minute burst.
"The classier strikes came courtesy of Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott, as Ajax followed Barcelona, other semi-finalists in 2019, in exiting in the pool stages, Liverpool ensured they will be in the last 16, albeit almost certainly as runners-up to the all-conquering Napoli side.
"It is a triumph for Salah, too. He was dreadful in Naples, outclassed by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, substituted with the game gone and only Luis Diaz posing a threat. Yet since then, he has scored six goals in four games, including the Champions League’s fastest ever hat-trick. Liverpool’s progress has stemmed from his predatory prowess."
Paul Gorst, via the Liverpool ECHO
"The wider question now is just where this team are at present? Capable of superbly shackling City before turning in an abysmal display at the league's bottom team less than a week later; such fluctuations make it difficult to gauge an accurate reading.
"Quite how this relatively comfortable triumph fits into the equation is open to suggestion: Ajax were full of effort but short on the sort of real Champions League quality that will now await Liverpool next year.
"A convincing end to this block of fixtures now before the World Cup will at least start to win over more of those who have started to question a lot of things surrounding this football club since early August.
"Liverpool are not the busted flush some would have you believe, but neither are they the irresistible force of recent years either. Not just yet, anyway. For now they will perhaps sit somewhere in the middle of that sliding scale and by the time the last 16 kicks off in February, Klopp's team may just be a lot closer to the former. More performances on the road like this will help aid that."
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