Daley Blind 7; Mohamed Salah 5, Roberto Firmino 4, Fabinho 8: Ajax v Liverpool player ratings

Reds hold their nerve for an important victory in Holland

AJAX RATINGS: Andre Onana - 5: Had two lucky escapes in the second half, once when he failed to claim a corner against Fabinho and again when charging upfield to contest a ball with Jota. No chance with the goal. AP

Noussair Mazraoui - 4: Not the best night for the right back. Robertson and Mane had plenty of success down his wing. Wasteful in possession. PA

Perr Schuurs - 6: Nervous against Mane but made the striker work hard. Confident on the ball when stepping out of defence. Made way for Traore in 84th minute. PA

Lisandro Martinez - 6: Competent in defence and supplied some useful crosses when Ajax were chasing the game in the second half. AFP

Nicolas Tagliafico - 4: Was completely unbalanced when he scored the bizarre own goal that separated the teams. Never exerted his authority on the game. AFP

Davy Klaassen - 7: Composed and influential. Hit the post with a powerful shot. The former Everton man had a good night until he ran out of energy and was substituted after 74 minutes. EPA

Daley Blind - 7: Used all of his experience to help counter Liverpool’s threat. Pushed into midfield and was an influential presence. Sacrificed for Huntelaar with six minutes left. PA

Ryan Gravenberch - 5: Was allowed plenty of space and started well but the 18-year-old’s lack of experience told as the game went on. AFP

David Neres – 6: Faded after a bright start but supplied Promes with Ajax’s best chance of the match. Replaced by Labyad after 74 minutes. PA

Dusan Tadic - 6: Worked the channel between Gomez and Robertson effectively and harried the Liverpool defence. Drifted out of the game in the second period. PA

Mohammed Kudus - 4: Sustained an ankle injury in the early stages during a challenge with Fabinho and was replaced by Promes after nine minutes. A big loss for Ajax. EPA

SUBS: Quincy Promes - 4: Off the bench earlier that expected when Kudus was injured in the ninth minute. Should have opened the scoring moments before Liverpool took the lead. Disappointing effort. Getty

Jurgen Ekkelenkamp – 4: On for Klassen after 74 minutes but had little impact. Lifted an awkward bouncing ball over the bar in the final minute after Adrian’s wayward punch. AP

Zakaria Labyad - 4: Part of a double substitution with 16 minutes left, replacing Neres. A largely anonymous effort as the anticipated Ajax charge failed to materialise. AP

Lassina Traoré - 4: Sent on for Schuurs with six minutes left as Ajax became increasingly desperate. Had one difficult headed chance. AP

Klaas Jan Huntelaar - 4: The 37-year-old produced an unsatisfying six-minute cameo when coming on for Blind. Age has caught up with this once-prolific goalscorer. AP

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Adrian - 5: Early mix up with Gomez set the uncertain tone in the Liverpool penalty area. Then allowed Tadic to charge down a clearance. Nervous performance but great reaction save from Promes. Getty

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5: Did not produce his usual vibrancy going forward and – understandably - seemed preoccupied with his defensive duties. AFP

Joe Gomez – 5: Seemed to lack a little confidence. Not the worst of his recent performances but needs to improve his strength and anticipation. PA

Fabinho - 8: Tidied up a number of awkward situations in the penalty box. Brilliant clearance off the line capped an assured display. AP

Andrew Robertson - 7: Plenty of powerful forward runs and dangerous with the ball at his feet. A constant worry for the Ajax defence. EPA

James Milner - 5: Worked hard but frequently off the pace of the game. Booked for a cynical foul on Neres to stop a counter attack. Reuters

Georginio Wijnaldum - 5: Occasionally wasteful in possession but plugged the gaps when Ajax had the ball. Was set up with a chance by Jota but lacked composure. PA

Curtis Jones – 5: It was always going to be a big task for the 19-year-old to influence a game of this magnitude. No surprise when he was replaced by Henderson after half time. PA

Mohamed Salah - 5: Had a couple of opportunities but failed to make the most of them. A constant menace to the defence and Ajax were relieved when he was taken off on the hour. PA

Roberto Firmino - 4: Things are not quite working for the Brazilian at the moment. Lots of effort but looks short of sharpness and confidence. PA

Sadio Mane - 6: The liveliest of Liverpool’s attackers. In a splendid run of form and has the knack of making things happen. His miskick led to the freak goal. EPA

SUBS: Jordan Henderson – 6: Replaced Jones for the second half. His industry and experience helped the team see out the victory. EPA

Diogo Jota - 7: On for Firmino in Jurgen Klopp’s strange triple substitution on the hour. Not afraid to run at the defence. Superb ball to Wijnaldum late on to create a chance for the Dutchman. AP

Xherdan Shaqiri - 6: Given half an hour of action when Salah was withdrawn. Buzzed around and slipped a nice pass to Minamino to allow the Japanese to shoot in the box. AP

Takumi Minamino - 6: Took Mane’s place when the entire front unit was replaced after 60 minutes. Showed positive signs and tested Onana with a shot. AP

Rhys Williams - 4: Given four minutes of stoppage time as Milner’s legs faded. Good experience for the 19-year-old who was on loan at Kidderminster Harriers last season. Getty

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted with how his untested centre-back pairing of Fabinho and Joe Gomez performed in the 1-0 win over Ajax in their Champions League opener.

A Nicolas Tagliafico 35th-minute own goal decided an untidy match in Amsterdam as only the Reds' second clean sheet in 13 European games as the away team on an opponent's ground proved decisive.

Midfielder Fabinho, in particular, was exceptional filling the hole left by Virgil Van Dijk's long-term knee injury - hooking a Dusan Tadic lob off the goalline to keep the score at 1-0 - but he also had a positive influence on Gomez alongside him.

"Good but even Fabinho can play better," Klopp said on the performance of the Brazil international, whose partnership with Gomez was the 35th centre-back pairing used by the German.

"This combination had not played together so they need to get used to each other, the verbal commands, what you need to say to the midfield.

"Fabinho can play the position, he likes playing it actually. If I asked him to play right-back I don't think he would enjoy it as much.

"I'm not surprised Fabinho plays in the position, otherwise I would have thought about a different solution.

"It was a good performance but there is a lot to improve, that is good. It was absolutely good tonight and we'd like it to carry on.

"We are not dumb enough to think we didn't need a bit of luck as Fabinho needed to make a proper stretch to get that ball from the line and they hit the post.

"A clean sheet is one information but we could have done better. I don't care in the moment as we wanted to win the game and we have done that."

Klopp played down concerns about more injury worries, insisting Sadio Mane had been carrying a dead leg for a couple of days and that was the reason he had an ice pack on after being substituted.

Youngster Curtis Jones' full Champions League debut lasted just 45 minutes but that was because Jordan Henderson was not fit enough to play more than half a game.

"It was not the most easy-on-the-eye performance from both teams, both teams can play much better football," Klopp added.

"Pretty much the medical department made the line-up - and then you have to win the game and that is what the boys did and I think it was pretty much deserved.

"They had their moments but apart from that we were pretty dominant on a difficult pitch.

"It will not be on the front page of our history book but it is an important moment and I am pleased with that."

To see how each player rated, simply swipe through the picture gallery above or click on the arrows.