Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. An away win, and a clean sheet, in Liverpool's first match without the talismanic Virgil van Dijk is not to be sniffed it. Given the circumstances, this was a match for Liverpool to get through, to manage, to win with minimal fuss. There were a few more sloppy incidents extending to the midfield that incensed Jurgen Klopp, but Liverpool were not severely troubled. Stationed alongside the excellent Joe Gomez, Fabinho calmed the nerves and nullified the hosts in a largely untidy first half. ... More positive results would not automatically lead to Wednesday's game … Act 1, Scene 1 of Liverpool Without Virgil van Dijk was marked by Fabinho morphing into a centre-back extraordinaire in the 1-0 Champions League victory at Ajax. Nos partenaires et nous-mêmes stockerons et/ou utiliserons des informations concernant votre appareil, par l’intermédiaire de cookies et de technologies similaires, afin d’afficher des annonces et des contenus personnalisés, de mesurer les audiences et les contenus, d’obtenir des informations sur les audiences et à des fins de développement de produit.

At the other end of the pitch, Liverpool were gifted the opener after the half-hour mark courtesy of a farcical own goal from Nicolas Tagliafico, who tried but failed to properly react to Sadio Mane’s scuffed effort across the box, only managing to shank it into his own net under no pressure. Trent Alexander-Arnold came onto a good game eventually, too. But this wasn't about Liverpool's forwards, but how their defence would cope without Van Dijk. For all the moments of fragility that Adrian had displayed, it turned out to be a panicked defensive error by Ajax that separated the sides. In moments, Adrian is unconvincing and when he got into a terrible mix-up with Joe Gomez after just two minutes it revealed the assuredness Liverpool have lost. The Brazilian international produced a top-shelf clearance to thwart a certain goal, made three others, along with four tackles, two interceptions and a block – and that was just in the opening 45 minutes. It is different for Liverpool. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. In that context, it was mission achieved. Quincy Promes, on early to replace the injured Mohammed Kudus, tried to dice Liverpool with slick interplay in combination with Tadic and David Neres. Onana does, for Ajax. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Davy Klaassen, late of Merseyside's blue half, struck a shot which defeated Adrian but not the outside of the post. And what a strange goal it was. Maybe Onana's team-mates thought he was getting bored and needed occupying. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. At other times, he came to the rescue.

There are, of course, better sides in this competition than Ajax; teams that will test Liverpool's defence to its limit. Everyone needs to be on their guard when Tadic is around and the former Southampton man was at the heart of much that was good about Ajax, as usual.

A good win, too. Gomez was shepherding the ball back and clearly wanted Adrian to stay home to receive the pressure-alleviating pass. Klopp was able to withdraw the Senegal international, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino on 60 minutes for Diogo Jota, Xherdan Shaqiri and Takumi Minamino - the trio all lively as subs. Certainly Liverpool hadn't been giving him a great deal to do. It was a staggering moment, and another almost followed nine minutes later when Mane crossed and this time Perr Schuurs almost made it two.

Découvrez comment nous utilisons vos informations dans notre Politique relative à la vie privée et notre Politique relative aux cookies. Ajax vs Liverpool (8pm) This could be horrendous news for Liverpool fans. Ajax 0-1 Liverpool: In a performance that was not always perfect, a Van Dijk-less Reds side earned a confidence-boosting victory in Amsterdam, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here.

The goal that divided these teams was flukey, and nothing less. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.

Adrian came out to clear it but his punch fell short to midfielder Jurgen Ekkelenkamp. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix à tout moment dans vos paramètres de vie privée. Fabinho was switched from his midfield role, Curtis Jones drafted in for his European debut. It was the sort of bold, responsible defending we have come to expect from Van Dijk. Oui pour Les Deux Équipes Marquent, avec un pourcentage de … The pair delivered a steely display to build on during Van Dijk’s lengthy absence. Jordan Henderson and manager Jurgen Klopp embrace after the crucial Champions League victory on matchday one, Reds No 2 goalkeeper Adrian kept a clean sheet in Amsterdam on Wednesday, deputising for the injured Alisson Becker. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later?

Yet more than two months separate Liverpool from the January transfer window and Jurgen Klopp may still wish to bolster his numbers, no matter how well the residents are doing.