Amsterdam, October 27 (BNA) Liverpool beat Ajax Amsterdam 3-0 on Wednesday to secure second place in Group A and advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League.
Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead three minutes before the end of the first half and then took the lead after the break with quick goals from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott to seal a convincing victory.
The win kept him three points behind leaders Napoli, who won 3-0 at home to Rangers to bring them the most points from their five group stage matches.
He visits Napoli at Anfield on Tuesday to decide first place when Liverpool need to win at least 3-0 to defeat the Italian league leaders head-on after losing 4-1 in September.
Ajax needed a two-goal win on Wednesday to keep their slim Champions League hopes alive, but they will now face Rangers in Glasgow next week for a place in the Europa League.
The Dutch club has three points, while Rangers have not yet opened their account.
Stephen Burgess had an early attempt against the straight as Ajax started in a lively and unexpected physical manner that shook the Liverpool defence.
This ensured some exciting exchanges between the players, showing what was at stake in the competition at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
The match turned abruptly and firmly in Liverpool’s favour when Captain Jordan Henderson’s outstanding pass, delivered from the outside of his boots, was met with a witty finishing touch from Salah who brilliantly flew the ball over Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasfer as he rushed off the field. Goal.
It was probably 2-0 in 120 seconds, as Nunez missed an easy shot at the back post after a selfless pass from Roberto Firmino, firing it against the post.
Nunez equalized four minutes into the second half with a powerful header from a corner kick and the match was over two minutes later when Elliott scored the goal.
He hit a powerful shot into the roof of the net from a sharp angle after a powerful pass from Salah.
“We had a difficult half hour where Ajax put a lot of pressure and we needed to defend with great passion. You have to get through these stages,” said Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp.
“Then we scored a goal that was absolutely phenomenal. In the second half we had a really good start, we scored two great goals and then controlled the game well. We were in the knockout stages and I wouldn’t take that for granted.”