Late goal earns Liverpool win over Ajax in Champions League

Liverpool's Joel Matip, left, scores his side's second goal during the Champions League group A soccer match between Liverpool and Ajax at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Joel Matip headed in an 89th-minute goal - with the aid of goal-line technology - to earn Liverpool a 2-1 win over Ajax and its first points in this season's Champions League on Tuesday.

The center back met an outswinging corner from the left with a header that had just crossed the line before it was cleared away by a covering Ajax player.

Liverpool fans held their collective breath inside Anfield before the referee pointed to his watch to signal a huge goal for the English team, which was humiliated in a 4-1 loss at Napoli last week in the opening round of Group A games.

Looking to make amends for that defeat in Italy which manager Jurgen Klopp described as the worst performance in his tenure, Liverpool started with intensity and Mohamed Salah ended his run of seven Champions League games without a goal by putting the team ahead in the 17th.

Mohammed Kudus smashed a shot in off the underside of the crossbar for the equalizer in the 27th after Ajax midfielder Edson Alavarez ran in behind Trent Alexander-Arnold and cut a cross back into the penalty area.

Liverpool was the better team for the majority of an end-to-end game but after Darwin Nunez swept a shot wide and Salah hit a deflected effort against the post, it looked like it wasn't going to be the home team's night.

Now, after Matip's late intervention, Liverpool will head into back-to-back games against Rangers after the international break in good heart.

Before kickoff, there was a period of silence as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week at the age of 96. It was respectfully observed, except for a few random shouts that were quickly hushed.

It was Liverpool's first game since the queen's death. Players from both teams wore black armbands for the game.