Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder has revealed that he has studied Manchester United 's win over Liverpool as he looks to repeat a similar feat when his side heads to Anfield on Tuesday night.
Erik ten Hag, who left Ajax after three-and-a-half years in the summer, guided the Red Devils to an impressive 2-1 victory against Jurgen Klopp's side last month thanks to goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford. It was a tactically astute performance from United as they frustrated the Reds and caught them cold at the back.
Schreuder will be looking to replicate the same result as Ajax search for their second successive Champions League victory after hammering Rangers 4-0 last week. The Amsterdam club were in fine fettle and destroyed Rangers courtesy of strikes from Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis, Mohammed Kudus and Steven Bergwijn.
Ajax replaced Ten Hag with Schreuder in June, with the 49-year-old re-joining from Club Brugge after he had spent 18 months as Ten Hag's assistant. With Ajax searching for another win, Schreuder has explained what he learned from United's success over Liverpool at Old Trafford.
He said: "I have looked at the United match and what they did. There are certain things they did that are applicable to us. You have to be good with the ball against these kinds of teams. You need to have guts and courage. Courage is key. If you have that, then you have a chance."
Meanwhile, Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from their humbling 4-1 defeat at Napoli when they return to Anfield. The Reds were thrashed in Naples as a Piotr Zielinski brace and goals from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone earned Napoli all three points on matchday one of the Champions League.
Luis Diaz scored the Reds' only goal as Klopp's side were beaten for the third time this season. However, Schreuder is anticipating the Reds will come out fighting and is expecting a big reaction.
He added: "I think Klopp is just going to ask the players to play in a defensive way better than they did last time. Managers admit if you haven’t played well. We expect to go into a storm. We are also good. We try to play our own game. You have to have courage and tomorrow, if we can do that, we have a chance. If you don't have it, it is going to be difficult, especially one on one."
Schreuder continued: "Ajax have shown in the last years we can compete at this level. It's a big compliment for the people here at Ajax to get a strong squad again. We signed a few players and some young players have come in, which fit into the Ajax system. It gives us new energy."
