With three points in two matches, the Reds join their evening visitors and Naples, who play Wednesday in Glasgow against Rangers (0 points), the meeting having been postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The clash in the league against Chelsea on Sunday, having also been postponed for the same reasons, the Reds no longer have a meeting before the international break, which could frustrate Jürgen Klopp a little.

After the disastrous performance in Naples (4-1), a week ago, he would undoubtedly have liked to see his team confirm their return to form before parting with it for a fortnight.

The German will nevertheless have appreciated the return to the starting lineup of Thiago Alcantara who restored a lot of control and accuracy in the midfield, or that of Joël Matip in central defense, whose ball-to-foot climbs often created shifts interesting.

The Cameroonian was also rewarded for his fine performance by scoring the winning goal, with a header pushed back behind his line by the captain of Ajax, Dusan Tadic (2-1, 89th).

This goal could finally trigger a positive dynamic in the Liverpool season.

The tenure of Diogo Jota in a false-nine role, rather than Darwin Nunez, was also a satisfaction, his main virtue being to have seemed to boost Mohamed Salah.

The Portuguese, after a clearance from Alisson deflected in his race by Luis Diaz, thus shifted the Egyptian who converted the offering with coldness and precision (1-0, 17th).

Blackheads to remember

Seven minutes later, on a cross from Jota, launched into space by a quick and millimeter kick from Alisson, had also been almost victoriously taken over by Salah (24th).

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However, if the lessons of this match are generally positive, there were still some recurring black points.

The goal of the equalizer thus came from a new defensive negligence from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who did not follow the departure behind his back from Steven Berghuis.

If the finish of Mohammed Kudus, in the top corner, owes nothing to anyone (1-1, 27th), this goal, on the very first occasion worthy of the name of Ajax, seemed avoidable.

In the second half, the Reds also came close to punishment on a cross header from Daley Blind, at the far post, which grazed the amount of Alisson, caught on the wrong foot (75th).

Klopp will no doubt also regret the waste of his players in front of the Dutch goal, especially in the first period.

A strike from Luis Diaz went very close (24th), Virgil van Dijk had several interesting chances from the head on set pieces (35th, 44th), and Alexander-Arnold could have made up for his mistake with more success (31st, 42nd).

In the second half again, Darwin Nunez missed the target after a superb combination (83rd) and Salah saw a deflected shot hit the post from Remko Pasveer (88th) who blew on the occasion.

Fortunately, Matip's goal from the corner that followed erased all that and gave a boost to the Reds' season, which will have to be confirmed when the international break returns in early October.

© 2022 AFP