Rio Ferdinand says Michael Owen predicted the way Liverpool scored their 89th minute winning goal against Ajax last night. It was one the Reds needed.
Liverpool had to wait but they eventually found their winning goal against Ajax at Anfield. Mohamed Salah had put the Reds in front fairly early on but the Dutch hit back through Mohammed Kudus.
Jurgen Klopp says his side wasn’t quite the same after that equalising goal. They had chances, certainly, but it took until the 89th minute before Liverpool had their winner.
Joel Matip provided it. He rose to meet a late corner, powering a header towards goal. Dusan Tadic did his best to prevent it but couldn’t stop it clearing the line. Liverpool found their goal and took the three points.
And while Matip isn’t the most predictable goalscorer, at least one pundit saw it coming. Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport after the game that Michael Owen had seen the defender scoring against Ajax.
“Aerial duels tonight, [Liverpool] won 73%,” said Ferdinand. “And in the box they were so dominant.
“We were sitting there going ‘well, they haven’t really hit the target from any of these set-pieces yet’. Mo shouted earlier in the game, ‘Matip will score tonight’ and he came up with the winner.”
Joel Matip scores winning Liverpool goal in 89th minute
It really is such a threat that Liverpool have – when they can consistently win set-pieces. Their height and power from the centre-backs are unstoppable at times and Ajax had no answer for it.
In fact, that strength shows how fortunate Liverpool are. Centre-backs are becoming smaller as on-the-ball technique is favoured over physical dominance. We see that with the likes of Lisandro Martínez at Manchester United and Jules Koundé at Barcelona.
In Matip and Virgil van Dijk, though, Liverpool have two centre-backs who are both exceptional on the ball and strong enough to bully players. That makes them invaluable, really, and it proved to be match-winning on Tuesday night.
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