Having struggled to find their identity for large parts of the season, Liverpool's third goal at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday evening was a passage of play pleasing enough to trigger a wide smile from manager Jurgen Klopp.
Dropping infield to receive the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah let the ball run across his body before executing an exquisite defence-splitting pass for the freely-moving Harvey Elliott to latch on to. The 19-year-old's penetrative run beyond the last line of the Eredivisie champions' defence was met by unsuccessful, half-hearted tackle attempts from Edson Alvarez and Jurrien Timber, leaving Elliott all alone to compose himself prior to releasing an unstoppable strike into the roof of Remko Pasveer's net and secure the Reds' place in the knockout stages of Europe's premier competition.
In doing so, Elliott became the first teenager to score in back-to-back Champions League games for Liverpool, after opening his European account in the closing stages of the 7-1 thrashing at Rangers earlier in the month. In fact, Alexander-Arnold is the only player younger than the midfielder to score for the club in the Champions League.
