68 2GM Wednesday December 2 2020 | the times
SportChampions League
wide after the restart from Neres’s
excellent cross.
Kelleher, well protected by Fabinho
and Joël Matip in the main, first show-
cased his prowess in the 32nd minute
when Mazraoui, the right back, accept-
ed a pass having moved infield and
unleashed a shot from 25-yards that
arrowed towards the top corner.
A right hand thrust out by Kelleher
tipped the effort over the crossbar, a
save which was greeted with a roar of
approval from the home contingent
inside Anfield. He will hope to keep his
place for the visit of Wolverhampton
Wanderers on Sunday.
“I work every day in training to make
sure when it comes to a game I’m
prepared,” he said. “Thankfully, I was
able to make a good few saves in this
game.
“The younger players are not just
here to take part, we want to push on
and play as many games as we can.
“You can see we are making a differ-
ence and improving the team as well.”
In many respects, Jones is the
epitome of these qualities.
Offered an opportunity to play
regularly while the likes of Thiago
Alcântara, Naby Keïta and Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain are in the treat-
ment room, the 19-year-old has seized
the chance to impress.
He has an uncanny knack of making
things happen and is playing with a
maturity that belies his tender years.
The England Under-21 international
had served early notice of his threat
when picking off a loose pass from
Klaassen in the sixth minute.
When the ball was returned to the
teenager, via Diogo Jota and Mohamed
Salah, he had the misfortune of seeing
a curling shot from the edge of the pen-
alty area thud against the woodwork.
He would not miss a second time as
Onana inexplicably miscalculated,
allowing a tale of two goalkeepers to
become the overriding narrative.Three days after Jürgen Klopp
sarcastically “congratulated” BT
Sport’s Des Kelly on the hamstring
injury suffered by James Milner during
the Premier League game against
Brighton & Hove Albion, the Liverpool
manager was back on the channel,
again facing Kelly. Viewers hoping for
more needle between them were given
hope as Gary Lineker, in the studio,
asked us to stay tuned for “round two”.
The fallout was largely disappointing
but if you listened carefully, the
relationship between the pair had shift-
ed. It was like stumbling upon a couple
who have agreed to divorce but are not
yet ready to tell the children and are
doing their very best to appear civil. The
Liverpool manager even smiled as
Kelly referred to how Ajax have been
flying in the Eredivisie but as the inter-
viewer wished him “the best of luck”,
Klopp thanked him with just enough
polite dismissiveness to make it plain he
is not feeling all that chummy with BT.
“A little bit edgy of late,” is how Linek-
er described the German, referencingKlopp’s men avoid adding
the quite astonishing post-match dis-
cussion between Kelly and Klopp on
Saturday lunchtime, after Liverpool
had drawn at the Amex Stadium, in
which the Liverpool manager had been
scathing of being asked to travel to the
south coast for the early kick-off after
the midweek game against Atalanta.
Lineker called Liverpool’s defeat by
the Italian side and the draw with
Brighton “a blip” which immediately
distanced the broadcaster from any
culpability but in the same breath he
told viewers that Alisson, the ever relia-
ble goalkeeper, had been replaced by
the little-known Caoimhin Kelleher,
making his Champions League debut.
Alisson was missing because of a
hamstring problem suffered at the
Amex, a fact that adds grist to Klopp’s
mill of concern about fixture conges-
tion, but he refrained from congratulat-
ing Kelly for the Brazil international’s
absence. Lineker, though, kept on intro-
ducing “Des” as if he was capable of
boosting viewing figures all on his own.
It certainly seemed that we saw more of
Kelly on screen than we usually would.
Still, it is not Klopp’s job to be overlyAlyson Rudd
Liverpool (4-3-3): C Kelleher 7 — N Williams 6,
J Matip 6, Fabinho 6, A Robertson 7 — C Jones 7,
J Henderson 7, G Wijnaldum 6 — M Salah 5 (sub:
R Williams, 90min), D Jota 6 (sub: R Firmino 68),
S Mané 6. Booked Wijnaldum, Henderson, Mané.
Ajax (4-3-3): A Onana 6 — N Mazraoui 7
(K J Huntelaar 86), P Schuurs 8, D Blind 6
(L Martínez, 86), N Tagliafico 6 — D Klaassen 7,
E Álvarez 7 (sub: Z Labyad 69), R Gravenberch 7
— Antony 6, D Tadic 7, D Neres 7 (sub: L Traoré,
81). Booked Schuurs, Blind.
Referee T Stieler (Ger).Group D
PW D L F APts
Liverpool (Q)...540 19212
Atalanta..............522 1988
Ajax.......................52 12767
Midtjylland.......50 1 4 312 1Tale of two goalkeepers: Jones cashes in on Onana’s error to score the only goal
19
Williams set up fellow
19-year-old Jones for the
goal — the first time two
teenagers have combined
for a goal in the
Champions League
for LiverpoolPaul Joyce
Northern Football Correspondent
Youngsters answer
Liverpool’s crisis
call in fine style
Liverpool
Jones 58Ajax
1
0
MICHAEL REGAN/PAJürgen Klopp made a beeline for
Caoimhín Kelleher at the final whistle
before bounding over towards the rest
of his players and seeking out Curtis
Jones and Neco Williams from the
throng.
Against opponents in Ajax who pride
themselves on youth development,
perhaps it was fitting that Liverpool’s
progression to the knockout stages of
the Champions League would be se-
cured by their own academy graduates.
By the end of an entertaining contest,
it was not just Klopp who was full of
admiration.
When Kelleher capped his European
debut by brilliantly repelling Klaas Jan
Huntelaar’s point-blank header to
preserve the hosts’ advantage in the
88th minute, the entire visiting bench,
led by coach Erik ten Hag, recoiled in
disbelief.
“I am pretty sure he will either sleep
really well tonight or not at all,” said
Klopp of the 22-year-old, whose last
first-team game had been the FA Cup
win over Shrewsbury Town in Februa-
ry. “But he will enjoy both.”
The Ireland Under-21 player had
been preferred to the more experienced
Adrián, with first choice Alisson Becker
becoming the latest Liverpool player to
be sidelined by injury, partly because of
his skill with the ball at his feet given
Ajax’s penchant for pressing.
As it was, Kelleher showcased his
shot-stopping qualities also and will
have cause to wonder about the chang-
ing nature of football today.
Last Saturday he conceded seven
goals as the under-23s were trounced
by Manchester City and, here, his com-
posure provided a neat contrast to that
of his opposite number.
Ajax had been enjoying a purple
patch, David Neres striking the post
after Kelleher had pushed out
Noussair Mazraoui’s effort,
when Liverpool mounted an
attack of their own just before
the hour mark.
In truth, the move had ap-
peared to have disappeared
down a cul-de-sac as Neco
Williams delivered a cross
with his left foot, but
André Onana, the Ajax
goalkeeper, allowed
the ball to sail over his
head, blissfully un-
aware that Jones was
about to steal in unno-
ticed and tap into the
unguarded net.
Klopp has been look-
ing for a helping hand
given how events have
conspired against
him in recent weeks,
whether it be with re-
gard to his bête noire of fixture schedul-
ing or a growing injury list.
For all their slick approach play and
menace, the Dutch side have proved
obliging opponents. It had been Nicolás
Tagliafico’s own goal in Amsterdam in
match-day one that sealed a similar 1-0
success.
Similar in scoreline and in perform-
ance, but Klopp will worry less about
that. Indeed, while victory means Liv-
erpool have qualified with a game to
spare as winners of group D, finding a
team to play in Midtjylland next
Wednesday will still be an issue.
Andrew Robertson, who needed his
left ankle strapped up in the opening
half after limping out of an early chal-
lenge, and Jordan Henderson received
“proper knocks” and will have to be
assessed today.
The absence of Alisson for the next
ten to 14 days after he tweaked his
hamstring against Brighton & Hove
Albion on Saturday merely exac-
erbated an injury roll call that
has grown by the day.
In those circumstances,
with four of Liverpool’s first
choice missing, it is little won-
der that the gears became
a bit sticky, a host of
counterattack possi-
bilities were not
taken, and there was a
need to grind out this win.
Ajax were the opposite.
Easy on the eye, but
unable to find the finish-
ing touch, and they must
now beat Atalanta next
week to make it through to
the round of 16.
Dusan Tadic, once of
Southampton, sometimes
passed when he should
have shot, Davy Klaassen,
the former Everton mid-
fielder, endured more
misery on Merseyside
when he headed wastefullyKlopp’s hugs Kelleher after
his impressive display