Neither Núnez nor Gomez, this was Klopp's most disappointing player in the first half against Ajax

After Thiago Alcantara was confirmed as a doubt for the fifth Champions League matchday, the Reds boss had to keep adjusting his formation for their visit to Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena, with a 4-3-1-2 formation at the opening whistle that did little to help a midfield that was outplayed in most of the action.

Coach Jurgen Klopp had opted for a more aggressive game that involved his midfield at all times, but it did not respond as the German tactician had hoped and the failings of Fabinho in particular were present both in attack and defence, not allowing Ajax a collective advance by the Reds and easily slipping through the area to the edge of the box.

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Although the Brazilian midfielder got the vast majority of his passes right and his aerial and ground duels were effective, the teamwork did not work in his favour, as neither Jordan Henderson nor Harvey Elliot were able to accompany him in the opposition's attacks, allowing him to drive into the last 30 metres of the pitch where Ajax distributed the ball to the flanks or opted for the mid-range shot.

As Klopp did not start with a line of four and preferred to have a greater contribution in the offensive sector to get the lead quickly on the scoreboard, Ajax were taking advantage of the situations to generate danger and take possession of the large spaces generated by their opponents, making Fabinho look bad in many situations as he did not have that partner to rely on in the plays.

In spite of the victory, Fabinho had a poor game

As the game went on, Jurgen Klopp corrected the spaces created in that half of the pitch, turning Liverpool into a more compact team that began to play the ball and not allow their opponents to come out quickly, finding a balance towards the end of the first half that rewarded them with Mohamed Salah's goal and going into the break with a 1-0 lead.