A number of Liverpool young guns were pointed out by skipper Jordan Henderson for their solid showing in the 1-0 victory over Ajax as Jurgen Klopp’s side secured qualification to the Last-16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Caoimhin Kelleher, Neco Williams, and Curtis Jones were all integral to the narrow one-goal victory edged out by the Merseysiders on Tuesday night at Anfield as an increasing list of injury troubles to first-team regulars forcing Klopp to draft his inexperienced members in the XI on what was a big European matchday.
However, the latter duo were impactful in their showing on the pitch as a brilliant Neco Williams- Curtis Jones link up play allowed the latter to find the back of the net in the second half, giving the Reds a much-needed advantage heading into the hour mark of the game.
Kelleher, meanwhile, was in fantastic form over the course of the 90 minutes, with the Irish goalkeeper stepping in for the injured Alisson Becker in a wonderful manner, making as many as three superb saves to prevent the visitors from getting back into the match.
Job done. Into the knockouts. Massive credit to the young lads in the side tonight. Some big performances! pic.twitter.com/uYmSsL4rbD
— Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) December 1, 2020
Henderson, in his interview to Liverpoolfc.com after the win over Ajax, heaped praise onto the efforts of the Liverpool youngsters, particularly Kelleher for his star-man show between the sticks.
“Unbelievable, isn’t he? Outstanding, some of the saves he made, important saves,” Henderson said.
“His distribution was excellent, coming out and commanding his area. I thought he was outstanding and a real plus for us.
“I’m delighted for Curt because he’s worked really hard. He listens, he wants to learn all the time and I think over the last few weeks you’ve seen the maturity in his play and he’s been outstanding. He deserved his goal.
“A great ball from Neco – I thought he overhit it, so I might have given him a bit of stick when he hit it! But it was a fantastic ball in the end. So I’m delighted for both of them.”
