Mohammad Salah kicked off the home side in the 17th minute but their lead only lasted 10 minutes before Ajax equalized with a superb strike from Mohammed Kudus.
Liverpool, beaten 4-1 at Napoli in their first group game, looked set for another disappointing result until centre-back Joel Matip scored in the 89th minute.
“You do a lot of good things, we played a very good game… And then you concede, you lead 1-0 and you concede with the opponent’s first chance, the equaliser,” Klopp told reporters.
“So that’s what I mean, that’s typical, like a real setback.”
Klopp hailed Liverpool’s reaction to Ajax’s ‘incredible’ leveler.
Matip’s late header wins for Reds 🙌#LIVAJA | #UCL https://t.co/7l2lIMjCMK
—Liverpool FC (@LFC) 1663102452000
“I wasn’t surprised when they scored, not because we defended badly but because it’s quite likely in situations like this,” he added.
“Almost any other (Alisson) shot would have been saved, but this was the one you couldn’t save. The reaction to show that we’re still capable of showing this stuff was the most important thing tonight. ”
