5 goals and assists
©TM/IMAGO
Liverpool continued their remarkable start to the season under new manager Arne Slot with a convincing 4-0 win over Bundesliga champions and former club favourite Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night. In just the latest fixture that should have proved to be a fitting test for the Anfield boss, Slot’s side overcame a stubborn defensive display from the travelling German giants, with what has quickly become a bit of a signature move from the club this season: a remarkable performance from Curtis Jones.
On a quite literally thunderous night at Anfield, in which the game played out in front of the rather dramatic backdrop of fireworks going off across the city to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, the home crowd eventually got an opportunity to rival the booming sounds from outside the stadium when a slender pass from Jones cut Leverkusen’s defence wide open just after the hour mark. The ball found its mark, as the on-running Luis Diaz burst through on goal, to confidently dink his shot over the goalkeeper. And while the Colombian forward would bag a hat-trick and his team would pick up four in total, it was Jones’ solitary through ball that turned the game on its head and won Liverpool the match.
Jones was a somewhat overlooked player in Liverpool’s squad last season under Jürgen Klopp and managed just eight goals and assists in 36 somewhat sporadic appearances for the club. Over the course of the German manager’s final league campaign at the club, Jones made the starting XI just 12 times. However, this time around, Jones has elbowed his way to the front of the queue with outstanding performances under the new Liverpool manager and has been rewarded for it with no less than four of the club’s last five Premier League games and, of course, Tuesday night’s win over Leverkusen.
“I still learn on a daily basis about every player and Curtis [Jones] is one of them,” said Slot, when asked by Transfermarkt about the player’s transformation under him this season. “When I first started I first played him as a No.6. Which nobody saw because it was behind closed doors. That wasn’t his best game. I think one of his best qualities is that at this moment he can play in every position, because he’s in a very good place at the moment. He’s so comfortable on the ball so you can trust him closer to your defence, but like we saw against Chelsea and today, he’s also able to penetrate inside the 18-yard box and give that last pass. He really made the step up after pre-season and that’s why he’s getting his chances now. Because if players do well then they will get their chances.”
Such confidence on the ball was clear for all to see at Anfield on Tuesday night, as Jones drifted between the lines and looked to get on the end of attacks just as often as creating them with his own passing in the middle of the park. Alongside his all-important assist, Jones also completed three shots. And seems to be growing into a stronger goal threat for Liverpool with every passing game.
Last season Jones ended with an average of just 0.35 goals and assists per 90 minutes of football in all competitions. While that is certainly not a bad return for any young midfielder, it pales in comparisons to what Jones has achieved under Slot this season. So far, the young England international has already picked up five goals and assists in 12 appearances for the Anfield club this season, which gives him a remarkable average of 0.73 goals and assists per 90 minutes. In other words, Jones’ goal contributions have more than doubled in the last three months, and as the Anfield faithful bore witness to on Tuesday night, it has often proved to be the vital breakthrough that his team has needed to win games.
While Liverpool certainly aren’t short of attacking players in good form and Jones perhaps wasn’t even Slot’s most impressive player on Tuesday night, the young England international has quickly become one of the new manager’s most trusted players. And whether it be wins over West Ham, Chelsea, Brighton or even Leverkusen, Jones seems to be making a habit of scoring or creating goals in big games for Liverpool. And there’s little doubt that much of that is down to his new lease of life under his new manager at Anfield.
