As late winners go, it was hardly the beautiful game in all its glory, not that anyone was complaining.
In the full speed moment of real time, Joel Matip 's header from Kostas Tsimikas ' corner appeared to have been cleared off the line by an heroic Ajax defender, but a linesman's flag and the advent of goalline technology said otherwise. The ball had crossed the line and Liverpool had won the match.
For a moment that did not involve a deeply satisfying net bulge, the crucial goal was nevertheless greeted with a roar of glee inside Anfield. Unquestionably boosted by a collective outpouring of relief. After the hiding suffered in Naples, this was a game that Liverpool simply had to win if they are to plot themselves a straight forward route out of Group A and into the Champions League knockout stage.
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But before the romantics amongst us rush to file this one under the column of another famous European night at Anfield, it's time to take a bit of a reality check.
For large periods of this contest, the humming atmosphere that Liverpool's truly historic stadium has been built on was severely lacking. Not in the Anfield Road End of course, were around 3,000 Dutch supporters co-ordinated a mass demonstration of support that looked every bit as fun as it was visually impressive. Make no mistake, coming to Anfield was a big deal for these Ajax fans and they were hellbent on rinsing the experience for all it's worth. So much so that in some periods of the match the travelling congregation were comfortably drowning out their reputable hosts.
A variety of factors were at play here. Some circumstantial and some longer term.
There had been some nervousness around the club and the fanbase prior to the match, regarding how well the period of silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth II would be observed. Thankfully only a very small handful of individuals breached the observation before being shut down by others.
With You'll Never Walk Alone seemingly played by accident before being brought to an abrupt halt, no Champions League anthem and then the period of silence making up the pre-match ceremony, the Kop had hardly been afforded the opportunity to build up a cauldron of noise to frighten the living daylights out of the team from Amsterdam.
But such has been the relative success of Liverpool on the European stage in recent years, we are fast moving into new territory. The Reds are now competing in the Champions League for the sixth consecutive season. In that period they have lifted the trophy once, reached three finals and qualified for the knockout stages on every occasion without fail. In the year preceding this run, they reached the Europa League Final.
Familiarity breeds contempt and in Liverpool's case, Champions League Group Stage matches in some respects have all the allure of a Carabao Cup third round tie against Norwich City. A brutal assessment? Perhaps. But when a team gets itself into a habit of appearing in major finals consistency, the romantic notion of the early rounds becomes increasingly harder to muster. This is the price of success.
The sight of some of Liverpool's players attempting to whip up a storm in the stands themselves with some dramatic hand gesticulation is a pretty rare sight, but not without precedence. Bruce Grobbelaar once got in on the act against Ipswich Town back in 1994 at a rare Saturday morning match that had been rescheduled to avoid a clash with the Grand National.
Taking it upon himself to trot down from the home dugout, the substitute goalkeeper (as he was by then) acted as a cheerleader in front of the Kop, desperately trying to get a tune out of supporters to force home a win. It worked, as Julian Dicks converted from the spot to score the last ever goal by a Liverpool player in front of the famous standing Kop terrace.
On Tuesday evening it was the turn of a couple of current Liverpool players to try and pump up the volume. Darwin Nunez has not exactly set the world alight in the early stages of his big-money move from Benfica and his timing to call on the Kop to pump up the volume also left a little bit to be desired, asking the crowd to raise it immediately after side-footing a golden opportunity to score wide from 12 yards out.
Perhaps more significant were the actions of Man of the Match Thiago Alcantara, who was substituted deep into injury time. Walking back to the technical area around the back of the Kop goal, the Spanish international appeared riled as he called on the congregation to pump up the volume. He even pointed in the direction of the Ajax fans, perhaps suggesting the need to match them.
Calling for a more intense atmosphere in the 94th minute is probably a bit late in the day by any stretch, although the likelihood is that the silky midfielder was still fired up from Matip's late winning goal, but there is another element at play here.
UEFA's Champions League model has been very successful for a number of years, for UEFA and the clubs involved. A guaranteed six group stage matches, with three home games, keeps the tills ringing for the Reds but is a financial pressure on regular supporters who currently face budget decisions before putting the boiler on.
And with Liverpool's recent record in the competition so strong, there is little in the way of jeopardy involved in the group stages for the higher seeded clubs. Win three home games and Liverpool are more than likely safely into the hat for the last-16. Perhaps the 'Swiss model' to be introduced next season will fix that. Meanwhile, repeat matches against European teams who have visited Anfield in recent seasons can also dampen the appeal of group stage encounters.
But as a result, the practice of passing tickets on to friends and family for this type of fixture is commonplace (if you can get to grips with the club's slightly baffling new ticket forwarding system). This tweak in supporter demographic, while presenting a welcome opportunity for others to attend matches who ordinarily couldn't, can sometimes alter the overall atmosphere output on the night.
There is little doubt that the famous Anfield European atmosphere does not magically re-emerge at the mere prompt of a continental fixture, the reality is that the top clubs have now played too many of them in too short a space of time. That uniqueness will only be diluted further by the advent of a European Super League, whenever it happens as it surely will.
But much like those early domestic cups knockings, a business-like navigation of the group stages can pave the way to more memorable moments and even if the modern Anfield crowd is reluctant to turn it on like a switch, it can still be relied upon to deliver the goods when it really matters most.
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