90% pass completion: Gary Neville was swooning over Liverpool wizard who won 6 duels v Chelsea
Gary Neville was full of praise for one Liverpool player in particular as the Reds saw off Chelsea to make it seven wins in a row in all competitions.
Curtis Jones ended up being the match-winner at Anfield, netting early in the second half to quickly cancel out Nicolas Jackson’s equaliser, and the goal capped a tremendous all-round performance from the 23-year-old at Anfield.
Neville praise for Jones
Speaking on co-commentary for Sky Sports, Neville had no hesitation in declaring Liverpool’s number 17 as the Player of the Match.
In the final few minutes of the game, the ex-Manchester United defender said: “Curtis Jones is my man of the match. He scored the winner, he’s been the best player on the pitch and has been involved in a lot of Liverpool’s best play.”
Jones was excellent all-round for Liverpool
The winning goal will obviously be what propels Jones into the headlines, but as Neville rightly says, there was much more than that to the midfielder’s performance today.
He won the penalty that Mo Salah converted to give Liverpool the lead in the first half and could’ve had a second spot kick awarded for a foul on him just before the interval, only for VAR to let Robert Sanchez off the hook.
In The Athletic, James Pearce praised the 23-year-old for ‘snapping into tackles and using the ball intelligently’, adding that he was ‘at the heart of everything that was best about Slot’s side’ this evening.
As per Sofascore, the Reds’ number 17 won six of his nine duels, completed 90% of his passes (37/41), made three tackles and recorded two shots on target and two key passes in a tremendous display.
Jones has copped his fair share of criticism from the fan base at large over the past few years, but he was simply immense for Liverpool today, and we’re thrilled to see him having his moment in such a huge game for his side!
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