Curtis Jones steps up
Harvey Elliott would of course suffer an injury blow vs Leeds United last month.
Before this, Elliott had cemented a regular starting spot in Liverpool’s midfield three and was forming great partnerships with Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold down Liverpool’s right flank.
But with Elliott now injured and Thiago dealing with some issues of his own, Jurgen Klopp has looked to another young talent to fill the void in his midfield.
That man is 20-year-old Curtis Jones. Jones featured quite heavily in 2020/21 due to Liverpool’s injury issues and he is once again being handed a chance to shine this term as well.
Virgil van Dijk on challenge Curtis Jones will face
And so far, Jones has done exactly that, netting one goal and one assist in three league ties as well as providing two assists in Liverpool’s Champions League win over FC Porto.
Curtis Jones’ game by numbers vs. Porto:
90 touches
89% pass accuracy
7 duels won
4 shots
4 take-ons
4 long balls attempted
3 chances created
2 fouls won
2 assistsMagical night for the 20-year-old. pic.twitter.com/hupmv6mf8S
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 28, 2021
Now, Virgil van Dijk has been discussing the Liverpool youngster.
And, when doing so, Van Dijk stated that the big challenge Jones will face is being consistent, but that he has done a good job of achieving this so far:
“Unfortunately, Harvey got injured like everyone knows, of course, and was doing so well.
“It was difficult probably for Curtis to see that a little bit because obviously he wanted to play, but saw Harvey doing so well. Now he had to take his chance.
“At the moment, I think if you look at our midfield, Naby is still doing very well, Oxlade is doing very well, so it’s not easy to be out there.
“Obviously in the last couple of games he’s shown that he has the quality to be there and is doing well.
“He’s still young, he’s still learning, he has a great mentality. He has to keep that going. It’s only the start for him and he has to keep showing it.
“The most difficult part of being a football player is being consistent, so that’s going to be a big challenge for him. But so far, so good.”
Quotes via Liverpool’s official website.
Italy vs Spain betting tips: Nations League semi-final preview, predictions and odds
Belgium vs France betting tips: Nations League semi-final preview, predictions and odds
Liverpool betting odds, next game:
Watford vs Liverpool odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
Liverpool’s latest videos
Inside Anfield: Liverpool 2-2 Man City | Capture the atmosphere of the Reds’ thrilling draw
Go behind the scenes from Liverpool’s Premier League tie with Man City where goals…
2021-10-05T06:30:10Z
Every angle of Mo Salah’s stunning solo goal against Manchester City
Watch every possible perspective of the individual effort scored by Mo Salah against Manchester…
2021-10-04T06:00:08Z
Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 7 | 11 | 15 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 7 | 8 | 14 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| 6 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Brentford FC | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | -4 | 12 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 7 | -5 | 10 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 | -1 | 9 |
| 13 | Leicester City | 7 | -3 | 8 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 7 | -3 | 7 |
| 15 | Watford FC | 7 | -3 | 7 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 7 | -7 | 6 |
| 17 | Southampton FC | 7 | -5 | 4 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 7 | -6 | 3 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 7 | -8 | 3 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 7 | -14 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Hwang, Hee-chan | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 2 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 4 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Veltman, Joel | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 3 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Djenepo, Moussa | Southampton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 1 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 2 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ward Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 1 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Azpilicueta, Cesar | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 2 |
