30 men’s players have been shortlisted for the men’s award, along with 20 nominees in the women’s category.

But the question remains on everyone’s minds as the reveal of this year’s recipients approaches – who will be this year’s winners?

Barcelona legend and PSG star Lionel Messi is seen as the favourite to pick up the award in the men’s category this year – a win would see him earn his seventh Ballon d’Or.

The Favourite – Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi led his country, Argentina to continental glory when they won the Copa America this summer, beating Brazil 1-0 in the final.

Although Messi had his worst game of the tournament in the final match, the Argentine forward was the star from day one, to no one’s surprise.

On top of this, he won the Copa Del Rey with Barcelona in May as the Catalan side continued to rely on him to get the club the results it needed.

However, his recent move to PSG has not gone to plan so far – Messi has only shown flashes of the brilliance he showcased week in, week out for Barcelona (albeit the flash of brilliance at the weekend was a hat-trick of assists against St Etienne).

Odds: 1/2

The Unofficial Holder – Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski does not own a Ballon d’Or, at least not yet. However, if it weren’t for last year’s cancellation, many believe he would be the current holder.

The Polish forward has carried his insane goalscoring form from 2020 over to 2021, effectively making a two-year bid for a crown that may be rightfully his.

Lewandowski has bagged 73 goals in 60 games for his team, German champions Bayern Munich, since the start of last season and picked up FIFA and UEFA men’s player of the year awards for last year.

The number nine is not one to be overlooked and is expected to be very close to the top of the list, if not at the summit.

Odds: 5/1

The Egyptian King – Mo Salah

Liverpool were terrible at the beginning of 2021. Six consecutive losses at home, no imagination, no vision – they seemed a lost cause.

However, their star persevered. Mo Salah carried their flaccid attack to the finish line, with his his nine goals and two assists playing a big part in getting the side into the Champions League spots at the end of the season.

Fast-forward to now and he is (still) on fire – arguably the best player on the planet based on form.

His sensational haul of 17 goals and nine assists in just 18 games so far this season underlines his already legendary status on Merseyside – where many believe the form has made him worthy of the Ballon d’Or.

Odds: 8/1

The Italian Job – Jorginho

Jorginho’s work in the Chelsea midfield last season (and years before) was extremely underrated as the club won the UEFA Champions League for the second time.

His ability to set the tempo of their play and dictate games is something that is now being deservedly lauded – because he played a starring role n Italy’s Euro 2020 triumph.

Jorginho was one of three in the Italian midfield and the extra man in Mancini’s team allowed him to flourish at another level (although it is believed that his Chelsea midfield partner N’Golo Kanté counts as two men).

His work as the sole six in the eleven helped Italy to dominate possession all the way to the European crown.

The Italian has continued his stellar form this season, with a UEFA Super Cup to his name already, and is part of a Chelsea side that looks as if it will be tough to dislodge from the top of the Premier League table.

Odds: 12/1

The award will end up in someone’s hands tonight – chances are it will be one of these four. Will Messi reach seventh heaven? Will Lewandowski get what he deserves? Will Salah become the first African since George Weah to win it? Will Jorginho add another accolade to his name? Or will it be someone else? Let us know your thoughts below.

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The Egyptian King got his first three-goal haul of the season as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils crumbled in front of their fans.

Two of those goals came before half-time, with the third providing the killer blow at the start of the second half.

With his goals, the 29-year-old broke three records in one day and equalled another to add to the emphatic win away from home.

Salah became the Premier League’s highest-scoring African player with his first goal of the match, surpassing Ivorian Didier Drogba’s total of 184 in 89 fewer games.

He became the first player to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford in the Premier League and the first man to do so in all competitions since Ronaldo Nazario in 2003.

The Liverpool forward extended the club record he had set against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday for the most consecutive games in all competitions with at least one goal.

His first strike against United brought his current streak into double-digits with ten and also equalled the club record for most consecutive away games with at least a goal.

Salah equalled Sam Raybould’s record of scoring in five consecutive away trips for the club, a record that has stood since 1902.

He now sits on 10 goals in the league, three ahead of anyone else on the charts, with a further five from Liverpool’s three games in the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool continue their unbeaten start to the season and are currently 13 matches into 2021-22 without tasting defeat once.

The win sees them keep in the early race for first place, sitting second a point behind Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and a point ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

They face Preston North End next in round four of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, October 27 at 7:45 pm.

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The third round draw was made on Wednesday evening with 32 teams involved in it, 60 less than the competition had in the beginning.

The third-round ties will take place in the week commencing September 20, which is after the first international break of the year.

Liverpool will travel to Carrow Road for the second time in a handful of games to face Norwich City.

Norwich thrashed Bournemouth 6-0 at home in the second round and will be hoping to pull off an upset to reach the fourth round.

Debutant Christos Tzolis scored a brace and assisted two further goals in the rout while American Josh Sargeant scored twice and assisted one on the night.

Norwich boss Daniel Farke made 10 changes after his side’s heavy defeat to Manchester City.

However, Farke was quick to put a stop to any overreactions after the victory.

He said: “It is important that you deliver a good performance, but we also have to be a bit careful.

“This was a game on Championship level, top Championship level, and it proves that if we played there then we would probably romp the league again.

“But the Premier League is a different animal and I have to make sure I don’t throw some lads too early into the cold water.”

The sides recently met on the opening weekend of the 2021/22 Premier League with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds running out 3-0 victors.

Mohamed Salah and Bobby Firmino got on the scoresheet that day and some Alisson heroics kept the sheet clean but the three stars are not expected to line out for Liverpool in the tie.

Klopp tends to rotate his side for cup fixtures and it is believed that he will do the same for this years instalment of the EFL Cup.

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Liverpool dispatched Burnley in their first home fixture of the 2021/22 season to maintain a 100% record after the first two games.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds were made to work for their result as Burnley looked dangerous in the final third but either could not find the finishing touch or were offside.

Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas showed his quality with a Robertson-esque cross finding the head of centre-forward Diogo Jota, who headed home in front of the Kop.

Moments before, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and goalkeeper Alisson denied the visitors an unexpected lead with some stellar defensive work.

It was Burnley’s poor defending that allowed Jota the space to nod in the opener as centre-back Ben Mee moved away from Jota and left the goalscorer free in the middle of the box.

Liverpool were denied a second by VAR as midfielder Harvey Elliott, in his first Premier League start for the side, linked up with winger Mohamed Salah who curled the ball into the net.

Salah was deemed to be in an offside position and the goal was disallowed – this seemed to wake Burnley up.

Sean Dyche’s side pressed for an equaliser but went in at half-time without one to their name.

Striker Ashley Barnes put the ball into the home side’s net but his finish was ruled offside.

As time went on, Burnley’s pressure began to disintegrate and Liverpool gained the foothold in the match that they had searched for.

Sadio Mané secured the win for his side after Trent played the Senegalese forward in on goal.

The Liverpool full-backs were key to the side’s seventh win on the trot in the competition.

Liverpool will now look to next week’s game against Chelsea at Anfield before the first international break of the season.

The side return to action on Saturday, August 28th at 5:30 pm.

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The match will be played in front of a capacity crowd at Anfield for the first time since March 2020 when Atletico Madrid upset the then-defending Champions League winners.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are coming off a 3-0 opening day against Norwich City at Carrow Road last Saturday.

It was not the best performance from the Reds but the Canaries rarely troubled them, and when they did, Alisson was on hand to stop them.

Liverpool’s midfield of James Milner, who wore the captain’s armband, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did not click as well as Klopp would have hoped.

Some changes are expected in the middle of the park with Fabinho available and Curtis Jones expected to return after suffering a concussion in pre-season.

Kostas Tsimikas will make his second successive start in the Premier League at left-back, with Andy Robertson still recovering from injury.

All of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are fit for the game and Klopp will be spoilt for choice as a result.

Harvey Elliott and Jordan Henderson will also be available for the side’s first home fixture of the season and Ibrahima Konate could be in with a shout after sitting on the bench against Norwich.

There are no injury concerns for Sean Dyche’s visitors, who return to the ground where they shocked fans of the league last season.

Ashley Barnes scored the only goal in the game that ended Liverpool’s historic 68-game unbeaten run at home.

The Clarets lost their league opener to Graham Potter’s Brighton and Hove Albion and will want to bounce back from the 2-1 defeat.

The fixture saw Dyche set his side up in a 4-4-2 and it is expected that they will line up in the same formation on Saturday.

Lineups

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson; Trent, Matip, Van Dijk Tsimikas; Henderson, Keita, Elliott; Salah, Jota, Mané.

Burnley (4-4-2): Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor; Gudmundsson, Brownhill, Cork, McNeil; Wood, Barnes.

Betting

Liverpool 1/6

Draw 6/1

Burnley 16/1

TV Coverage

Liverpool v Burnley kicks off on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 pm. BT Sport will show the game live on television.

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It will be the first time Anfield will have a capacity crowd in 17 months after the pandemic led to the postponement of football in England.

The club will be using full NFC technology for supporters to access the stadium following trials in pre-season.

A full review of the trials has been carried out and several changes have been made to improve it ahead of the Burnley match.

The Premier League is encouraging a digital-first policy for the season, meaning that NFC tickets and Photo ID will be in use this weekend, as opposed to Print@Home and paper tickets.

Supporters are reminded to download their digital tickets to their smartphones before arriving at Anfield.

Technical advice and support will be available at the stadium for fans who need it.

The club is once again encouraging supporters to come early to avoid queues and allow for checks and search procedures.

On top of this, staggered entry times will be utilised in order to control the flow of fans around the ground.

Supporters will be contacted directly via email with details of their entry time ahead of the match, and fans are asked to enter during their allocated time.

Although no longer required by government guidance, it is recommended that fans wear a face covering and maintain distance from fellow supporters where possible when entering and leaving the stadium.

In line with our city partners at Liverpool City Council’s Ground Safety Advisory Group and Public Health Department, supporters are strongly recommended to take a lateral flow test 24 to 36 hours prior to kick-off.

Fans are also reminded that Anfield is home to many people, so we ask that you respect residents by leaving quietly and taking any litter home with you.

Liverpool welcome Burnley to Anfield on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 pm. The game will be televised live on BT Sport.

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Milner wore the captain’s armband in his side’s opening day victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road – a confident and assured 3-0 win.

It was the first time the team had played in front of a capacity crowd in 17 months, their last such experience being a 3-2 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Milner said that the players knew they would thrive in front of the packed Carrow Road stands.

“It’s incredible,” Milner told Liverpoolfc.com post-match. “I remember the first few times I stepped out when there was nobody there and coming out of the tunnel it was the first time it really hit you because normally when you step out of the tunnel you either get the roar or booed or something, anything would have done, but it was just quiet and that’s what really hit you.

“But having our fans here today singing all the way through and seeing them at the end, amazing to have them back and obviously it will be special next week at Anfield as well.

“We’ve missed them and hopefully we can keep putting in performances and getting results like today for them.”

Diogo Jota, Bobby Firmino and Mohamed Salah got the goals for the side and they kept a clean sheet, courtesy of some heroics from goalkeeper Alisson late in the game.

Salah’s goal was a new Premier League record as the Egyptian scored on the fifth opening weekend in a row.

“The result is pretty much perfect obviously with a clean sheet and different goalscorers, obviously it’s always nice for those guys to get off the mark,” said the captain on the day.

“The performance could have been better, we know that, but that’s pleasing that there is plenty to work on and it was a good day’s work.”

Liverpool will face Burnley in their first home fixture of the weekend on Saturday, August 21st at 12:30 pm in front of a full crowd.

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Both clubs faced off today in what could have been a potential title decider – despite Manchester City’s poor early season form. Both teams had their chances, but neither succeeded in scoring a match winning goal as the game finished 1-1.

Prior to the game, Liverpool had been on an impressive run of form. They won their last 5 games, including an astonishing 5-0 win over Atalanta midweek. They started the season slowly – by their standards – but have been reinvigorated in recent weeks, despite the absence of Virgil Van Dijk. Liverpool could have claimed top spot with a win tonight, but remain in 3^rd for the time being.

Manchester City had an even worse start to the season than Liverpool. Their 5-2 loss to Leicester in gameweek 2 was one of the most disappointing results in their recent history. They have picked up their form in recent weeks, however. They’re yet to break into the top half, though, with tonight’s result leaving them in 11^th.

The fist goal of the game came in the 10^th minute. Sadio Mane burst into the box before being taken down by Kyle Walker. The referee showed no hesitation as he pointed to the spot almost immediately. The resulting penalty was tucked away with aplomb by Mohammed Salah. His goal today was his 8^th Premier League goal this season after as many games.

LIVERPOOL LEAD!

Walker gets caught the wrong side of Mane and Salah confidently dispatches the penalty. What a start from Klopp’s men!

Watch on Sky Sports PL
Follow #MCILIV here: https://t.co/zXh2a6g4nC
Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/Ty0f5AI9YW

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) NOVEMBER 8, 2020

It took Manchester City 25 minutes before they got their first real opportunity of the game. A brilliant De Bruyne cross into Raheem Sterling left the winger with space on the edge of the 6-yard box. He took too much time however, and his shot was easily saved in the end.

They put that miss aside, however, as they equalized in the 31^st minute. The goal came as a result of fantastic play by Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian striker produced a brilliant turn to make space from Alexander-Arnold and Matip before toe poking into the net. The goal came after a sustained period of possession by Manchester City, having failed to do so earlier in the half.

CITY LEVEL THROUGH JESUS!

Superb from Jesus to pull City level! A striker’s finish. What a game we have here

Watch on Sky Sports PL
Follow #MCILIV here: https://t.co/zXh2a6g4nC
Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/9QI40IKqUN

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) NOVEMBER 8, 2020

Manchester City had a penalty shout in the 38^th minute as an attempted De Bruyne cross struck the arm of Joe Gomez. VAR took a look at the incident and decided that a penalty should be given after serious deliberation. The decision caused controversy among the football community with many claiming the decision was harsh. This is not the first time a contentious penalty has been given this season and it’s unlikely to be the last. Nonetheless, De Bruyne stepped up to take the resulting penalty and unexpectedly missed.

Liverpool had a chance to go ahead just before the break, also. Alexander-Arnold made a late run into the box before being fed into his feet. His shot, however, was poor as Ederson gathered with relative ease.

The first half ended with the scoreline at 1-1. Liverpool largely dominated the first portion of the half, but Manchester City gradually grew into the game. The half time scoreline was probably a fair reflection on the first half proceedings.

The second half started as the first ended as both teams attacked with intent. Diogo Jota had a chance in the 48^th minute to add to his tally in recent weeks as Ederson’s palmed clearance fell to him. He scuffed his shot, though, and it was easily saved in the end.

Gabriel Jesus had a glorious opportunity to get his second in the 54^th minute. A pinpoint ball through from Cancelo left Jesus with acres of space in the box. The resulting header, however, went wide as Alisson breathe a sigh of relief.

Liverpool have had their injury troubles this season in the defensive area, particularly to Virgin Van Dijk. Their list of casualties was added to in the 63^rd minute as Trent Alexander-Arnold went down. He was forced off and replaced by James Miler. Thankfully though, the injury is not suspected to be long term.

After the Jesus chance, the chances dwindled as Manchester City controlled possession without creating much in terms of chances. Liverpool tried to move the ball quickly when they retained possession but time and time again failed to create chances in the final third.

The second half ended as it begun with the scoreline at 1-1. In truth, it was a poor second half, devoid of any real quality. The final score was probably a fair result with all things considered. Leicester remain top of the Premier League after their win earlier today.

Manchester City’s draw with Liverpool means Leicester City will go into the international break as Premier League leaders pic.twitter.com/e4X7QSwxx9

— B/R Football (@brfootball) NOVEMBER 8, 2020

Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan; Torres (Silva 60′), De Bruyne, Sterling; Jesus.

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold (Milner 63′), Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum; Jota, Firmino (Shaqiri 58′), Mané; Salah.

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Liverpool kicked off their Champions League campaign tonight with a win against Ajax in the Amsterdam ArenA. It was the first meeting between the two sides since 1966, surprising given the amount of success both sides have had in European competition. Last time around Ajax dispatched comfortably of Liverpool with a scoreline of 5-1. That was not the case tonight as Liverpool came away with a much-needed victory.

The absence of Virgil Van Dijk was a much-discussed topic pre match. The Dutch centre back tore his ACL at the weekend after a poor challenge from Jordan Pickford. A timeframe has not been revealed yet as to how long he’ll be out of action, but early signs suggest it could be at least 9 months. Add this to goalkeeper Alisson’s injury and Liverpool’s backline has considerably depleted.

Re: Van Dijk.

Mechanism of injury reminded me of the Ben Mee tackle on Wesley.

ACL, MCL, PCL, and medial meniscus involved. Likely to be out until early 2021 (12+ months). @David_Ornstein reporting that damage “extends beyond the ACL” which fits with #LFC update ligament(s).

— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) OCTOBER 21, 2020

As expected, Fabinho and Joe Gomez started in a back two tonight in his absence. Joël Matip would probably have started with Joe Gomez in other circumstances, but a minor injury prevented him from doing so. Other than those three, however, Liverpool do not have an abundance of quality cover in that position. Reports suggest that Klopp may put his trust in youth in the coming months. This would be a great opportunity for some young players to gain some senior experience at the highest level, but how would it impact on Liverpool’s title chances? Throwing youngsters into the deep end amid intense pressure could spell disaster. Conversely, it could be the beginning of something special. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how the season plays out in the absence of their talisman.

Liverpool have struggled so far this season by their standards. A humiliating 7-2 loss to Aston Villa and a 2-2 draw against Everton at the weekend mean they currently sit in 3^rd. Ajax, on the other hand, sit 2^nd in the Eredivisie after four wins from five games.

Nevertheless, the tie promised to be an exciting affair with both teams playing a progressive brand of football and it certainly lived up to expectations.

It wasn’t long into the game before Ajax were forced to make their first change. Promising youngster Mohammed Kudus went down injured with 9 minutes played and was replaced by Quincy Promes. This was a disappointing change for the neutral as Kudus is an exciting young talent as he’s shown so far this season. Netherlands international Quincy Promes isn’t a bad option to bring off the bench, however.

Not long after, Liverpool had their first opportunity of the game after a lightning counterattack. Sadio Mane found himself on the edge of the box and managed to cut inside to get a shot off, but unfortunately for him his shot was blocked by the Ajax defender. The opportunity came as a result of good defensive work from stand in centre back, Fabinho. He robbed Quincy Promes of the ball in his own before setting up the counter. This was the first sign of the high tempo football both teams normally play, as it was a pragmatic start to the match by both sides.

With 15 minutes played Ajax struck back with an opportunity of their own. Tadic produced a brilliant cross from the right which met the head of Fernandez, but it was straight into the arms of Adrian. The save would have been a good boost to Adrian’s confidence as he had some shaky moments due to miscommunication previous to the opportunity.

20 minutes into the match and Ajax had another opportunity. This time Ryan Gravenberch got a shot off from outside the box after good build up play by Ajax. Adrian was relieved as the shot just whistled by the post. Gravenberch is another exciting product of the Ajax academy and will likely have his breakthrough season this year at the age of eighteen. He looked solid in the first half before fading out of the game a bit in the second.

Adrian was called into action again in the 32^nd minute. Some brilliant build up yet again by Ajax afforded Quincy Promes a great opportunity within the six-yard box but it was straight into Adrian who positioned himself well. A let off for Liverpool.

Promes’ miss would come back to haunt him just moments after. Liverpool scored after a frantic few minutes of football in what was unfortunate circumstances for Ajax. Nicolas Tagliafico won’t want to watch the goal back as it was his mistake that led to the goal. Sadio Mane let off a hopeful shot and – although going wide – Tagliafico reacted by throwing his foot at the shot which trickled into his own net.

Liverpool take the lead via Tagliafico own goal…#UCL pic.twitter.com/uYkWAfKe6F

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) OCTOBER 21, 2020

Liverpool had another fantastic opportunity in the 39^th minute after Salah was played through and left in space in the box. Normally so capable from that range, Salah delayed his shot enough for Noussair Mazraoui to get into position to block the shot in what would have been a certain goal, otherwise.

43 minutes in and it should have been 1-1 only for outstanding defending from Fabinho. A brilliant lobbed through ball in behind the Liverpool defensive line put Dusan Tadic through and his chipped attempt over Adrian was heading into the net before Fabinho acrobatically cleared over the line.

Moments afterwards and Fabinho was attacking the other end of the pitch. He met a Liverpool corner with his head, but the ball landed comfortably into Andre Onana’s arms. What a story it would have been if he scored after preventing an Ajax goal.

The first half ended 1-0 to Liverpool. Fabinho was arguably the best performer of the first half as he filled in for Virgil Van Dijk at centre half. His positional play was phenomenal at times given he’s not a natural centre back.

Henderson came on at half time for Curtis Jones. Otherwise, there was no other half time changes.

The first half started as the second ended. Davy Klassen struck beautifully from outside the box just moments after the whistle sounded, but his shot smashed against the far post. The former Everton man would have relished scoring against Liverpool, but it wasn’t to be.

Quincy Promes had yet another chance with 57 minutes gone. After a succession of half chances from Liverpool corners, Ajax launched a precise counterattack which led to the Promes chance from the edge of the box. His shot was tame and was tipped behind rather uncomfortably by Adrian. Nothing came of the resulting corner.

Liverpool made three changes directly after the chance for Ajax. Perhaps this was a sign as to how things were going as Ajax consistently created chances while Liverpool’s frontline failed to get going, despite the scoreline. Salah, Firmino and Mane were taken off and replaced by Shaqiri, Minamino and Jota. Mane was taken off as an injury precaution but the same cannot be said for Firmino and Salah, as they failed to impact the game like we have come to expect.

Liverpool had a slight scare in the 67^th minute as a VAR check was done for a possible penalty for an Alexander-Arnold handball, but luckily for them nothing came of it.

Minamino had his first real involvement in the game after 69 minutes but his strike from outside the box was saved tipped behind comfortably by Andre Onana. Minamino has struggled for regular game time since his transfer to Liverpool so for him to score in European competition would have done wonders for him.

Wijnaldum went very near to making it 2-0 in the 73^rd minute after he hit the wrong side of the net from a Liverpool corner. The corner came as a result of good work from Jota on the left-hand side as he cut inside and had his shot deflected out for the corner.

Minamino got involved again in the 77^th minute. He showed some quick feet to get past the Ajax backline before he attempted a low cross which just evaded the onrushing Andy Robertson. It would have been a tap in if Robertson had connected.

Ajax went all out attack in the 83^rd minute as they substituted Blind and Schuurs for Huntelaar and Traore, two more offensive minded players. It nearly cost them moments after as Jota caused problems before getting a shot off, but his shot was blocked to avert the danger.

Wijnaldum had another good opportunity in the dying embers of the game but Onana produced a good save to keep him out. The ball was kept in play and Liverpool fashioned another chance, but again Onana was there to stop them.

Liverpool made their final change in the 91^st minute as Rhys Williams replaced James Milner. Although he only got on for a couple of minutes, the night will live long in the memory of the nineteen-year-old as he made his Champions League debut.

Ajax had another chance in the 94^th minute as an Adrian mistake led to a Ekkelenkamp chance on the half volley. Unfortunately for him, he shot over in what was the story of the night for Ajax. This would be the last chance of the game for both sides.

The match finished 1-0 to Liverpool after an exciting end to end game. Liverpool have unquestionably produced better performances than tonight, but Klopp will be satisfied that his team managed to hang on until the end to secure the result.

The win moves Liverpool up to 2^nd place in Group D under Atalanta who go ahead on goal difference after beating Midtjylland 4-0. Liverpool’s next outing in the Champions League comes against Midtjylland on Tuesday 27^th of October. Joël Matip should be back in full fitness for the fixture but Klopp will have decisions to make after a solid Fabinho display in the same position tonight.

YES, REDS!

We start our @ChampionsLeague campaign with a win #UCL

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) OCTOBER 21, 2020

Liverpool line-up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Fabinho, Robertson; Milner (Williams 91’), Wijnaldum, Jones (Henderson 45’); Salah (Jota 58’), Mane (Shaqiri 58’), Firmino (Minamino 58’).

Ajax line-up: Onana; Mazraoui, Schuurs (Traore 83’), Martinez, Tagliafico; Gravenberch, Kudus (Promes 9’), Klassen (Ekkelenkamp 73’), Blind (Huntelaar 83’); Neres (Labyad 73’), Tadic.

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