Joel Matip headed home the winning goal for Liverpool in the 89th minute as they edged out Ajax to pick up a valuable three points.
Klopp wanted a performance of more substance than style against Ajax after Liverpool were beaten 4-1 by Napoli last week.
Mohamed Salah scored his first goal in eight European games to make it 1-0 before more defensive frailties allowed Mohamed Kudus to equalise before the break.
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A laboured second half, which included a personnel and formation change, failed to produce any genuine threat until Matip rose highest at a corner and his header crossed the line despite the best efforts of Dusan Tadic.
It was the stroke of good fortune the Reds were in desperate need of as, although second-half substitute Darwin Nunez made an impact, the game appeared to be heading towards a frustrating draw until the tall centre-back’s late intervention.
Out of respect following the death of the Queen Liverpool did not play ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ pre-match, with the opening bar sounding before being cut off to allow fans to sing unaccompanied.
The period of silence in memory of the Queen was broken briefly by one fan in the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand chanting ‘Liverpool, Liverpool’, although he was quickly shouted down by those around him, while a couple of fans in the Kop appeared to boo, but not with any conviction and it persuaded Portuguese referee Artur Dias to end the minute prematurely.
Klopp had spoken about the need for his side to reinvent themselves after Naples, but his team selection, with midfield still an area of weakness, was more a series of tweaks than anything radical.
His decision to hand Diogo Jota, their pressing machine, a first start since May after injury instead of big-money summer signing Nunez was a deliberate attempt to inject more energy up front in the expectation it would be replicated behind him.
The Portugal international’s early endeavours were matched by Thiago Alcantara, in his first start since the opening day of the season after injury, but his fellow midfielders Fabinho and Harvey Elliott were not quite at the same level.
Jota’s inclusion paid dividends in the 17th minute when, for only the second time this season, Liverpool scored first as he slid an inviting ball into the penalty area for Salah to tuck a left-footed shot past Remko Pasveer.
But the hosts failed to capitalise on that…
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