Henderson praises Liverpool’s youngsters

After

1-0 victory against

Ajax

,

has talked about the young players of Liverpool and their performance in the big matches.

"Any victory is always welcome, but even more so when it comes against a top European side and helps secure qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League,"

he wrote in Liverpool's matchday programme.

"The best thing about it, though, was it was made possible by the performances of some of our younger players, all of whom deserve all the credit in the world for how they played.

"Curtis Jones got the headlines and rightly so. He is a 19-year-old boy – and I use that word deliberately because in football terms he is still a kid – playing for his boyhood team with all of the pressures that come with that situation, but he doesn’t let it show. 

"He went out there, played his football, got the decisive goal and generally looked like he had been part of the team for years when the reality is he’s still a young lad with only a handful of appearances to his name.

"In goal we had Caoimhin Kelleher, a little bit older than Curtis but probably a little bit less experienced in terms of first-team exposure. Not only that, he was filling in for Alisson, who has been such an incredible presence for us over the last few seasons.

"Imagine that: you’re making your European debut for Liverpool in a massive game in front of a global audience and you have to replace one of the best in the world in your position.

"Keeping a clean sheet in any circumstances is always an achievement, but in this particular situation it is an even bigger one and all of the accolades Caoimhin received afterwards were richly deserved.

"We are so fortunate to have a brilliant set of ’keepers, all of whom are entirely focused on delivering what’s best for the team.”

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