Champions League: Juergen Klopp reacts to Darwin Nunez's terrible miss against Ajax as Liverpool advances to the knockout rounds

Liverpool qualified for the knockout round with a game to spare, but their shaky form and injury woes were forgotten as Ajax ultimately were dispatched with relative ease in Amsterdam.

Liverpool secured a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory against Ajax.

Ajax started the game the stronger of the two teams and could have been up 2-0 after 35 minutes, but Mohammed Salah's chip over an onrushing Remko Pasveer gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Liverpool took control of the encounter in the second half, scoring two more goals through Darwin Nunez's and Harvey Elliott's heads, who smashed home their third. At that point, Ajax supporters began to leave their seats and exit the Dutch stadium.

The game's highlight was when new Liverpool star Darwin Nunez wasted a 2-0 goal-scoring opportunity.

After Mohamed Salah gave Klopp's team a 1-0 lead in Amsterdam, Nunez had the opportunity to make it 2-0.

Roberto Firmino flicked the ball across the penalty area to the forward, who needed to touch it into the back of the net. Instead, the ball ricocheted off the goalpost, leaving everyone in the crowd perplexed about how he missed.

Jurgen Klopp has addressed Darwin Nunez's dreadful mistake against Ajax, claiming the striker himself must have been surprised that he did not score.

"I think even he was surprised! [when Firmino passed for the shot on the woodwork]. He had a really good game in both directions, helped defend and played with a big heart today so hopefully, we took him off early enough!"

Despite his egregious misstep in the first half, Nunez made amends in the second. The 23-year-thunderous header met Andy Robertson's out-swinging corner kick into the far corner.

Liverpool into Champions League Knockout stage with a game left to spare

Mohamed Salah scored the game's first goal just before halftime to be Liverpool's all-time leading scorer in European football.

Liverpool had been in second place up until that point, but Salah's deft flip transformed the entire complexion of the game.

With Nunez's goal and Harvey Elliot's excellent finish, Klopp's squad secured three points, and their qualification from the group stage became a formality.

After qualifying for the Champions League, Liverpool will focus on making up ground in the league. On Saturday, they host a struggling Leeds United squad at Anfield.