Liverpool right-back Neco Williams provided the assist for Curtis Jones’ winning goal in the Champions League as he demonstrated a much-improved performance in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Bouncing back from having given away a penalty at Brighton in the Premier League just three days earlier, Williams looked confident and accomplished at Anfield, completing 80 per cent of his passes and winning at least one more duel than any other Reds defender.
Williams coped with the significant threat of David Neres, who was playing on the left side of the Ajax attack, not the right, as he did in the first match between the sides in October, and did not look out of place among his teammates.
The crucial difference between Brighton and Ajax that helped Williams’ confidence increase was likely the players around him in the Liverpool team.
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Mohamed Salah was the winger on his side of the field on both occasions, but at centre-back was the vastly experienced Joel Matip, rather than the more youthful Nat Phillips, who is still finding his own feet after being handed an unexpected chance.
And in midfield, rather than Takumi Minamino, a player yet to find his feet in the Liverpool side, playing in a number eight berth for the first team, was captain Jordan Henderson, who talked Williams through the game.
On the Post-Game podcast, Mark Baker said: “There is no question that he has looked way below the level recently but you have to remember how young the player is.
“It is far too early to be making judgements and you can see that he has lost confidence over the last couple of weeks and things that used to come naturally to him, he is now thinking about too much.
“But his general performance [against Ajax ] was really, really good and I felt really pleased for him, because you cannot underestimate how difficult it is coming into that environment.
“He has probably always been the best player in his age group and then suddenly you are second-guessing every touch, working with players who have won the lot.
“There is no question that he has got good athleticism and technique, and his crossing has good execution. He still looks like a very young player in his physique and it will only help when that maturity comes into his game.
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“Let’s be perfectly straight about it: he’s not playing for Liverpool at the age he is if he hasn’t got the ability.”
