Liverpool 2-0 Brighton: match review
The former Liverpool captain discussed the recent impact of Curtis Jones after the 2-0 victory over Brighton in the Premier League.
Phil Thompson lavished praise on Curtis Jones’ recent Liverpool impact and declared: ‘He has been wonderful’.
It was Jones’ third successive start in all competitions, with head coach Arne Slot changing his system to accommodate four players in the middle of the park. The boyhood Liverpudlian also helped his side claim a 1-0 Champions League triumph over Inter Milan, as well as a 3-3 draw at Leeds United - a game that the Reds should have won having led twice.
Jones’ recent performances have earned him plenty of praises from supporters, while Thompson has been highly impressed. But the former Liverpool captain and assistant manager did admit that the England international gave him ‘heart attacks’ against Brighton as he produced several dragbacks in his own box before being fouled.
Speaking on The Official Liverpool FC Podcast, Thompson said: “He values his place in the team, in the squad. He has had to fight for the recognition to be a first-team player because over the years, people have gone: ‘Curtis Jones is a good player but’. There was always a but.
“You’ve seen him come certainly in the last season and this season and there’s a player there. I said before the game he’s going: ‘I deserve to be in this side from the start’ and hes broken that mould. Barring giving me heart attacks with those drag backs and everything on the byline, he has been wonderful. Three games on the run, he’s probably been man of the match. I know Hugo has scored the goals but all-round contributions, it was down to Curtis today. He has played ever so well and he deserves the recognition.
“I know I was saying about the drag backs on the line but the majority of the time now, he did one at Leeds in our half when he just got away with it and turned and you just went ‘wow.’ It does get your nerves as a staff member but a lot of his good stuff is over the halfway line because he gets it in tight spaces, he turns and he passes it forward and we look so much better with Curtis doing that.”
Speaking after the Brighton win, Jones said: “I'm just one of them who loves to play, I just enjoy having the ball at my feet. I've obviously heard that there's criticism at times that I don't move the ball quick enough. That's just because I'm comfortable on the ball, I don't want to be in a rush and then I give a ball to a lad who is not as comfortable as me on the ball and he is kind of in a little bit of a challenge and then he gets the blame. I'd rather just take it on me and know that a lad who comes to press me is going to have to do an awful lot to take the ball off me.
“I'm adapting always, I'm trying to improve all the time. I want to score more goals, I want to get more assists. In terms of the role that I play, I'm happy to be part of the team and if the gaffer picks me, he picks me. If he doesn't, he doesn't. I'm always going to be there to show that I deserve to play. That's what I'm trying at the minute.”
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