Curtis Jones did not have an ideal start to life in the Champions League for Inter Milan as he lined up against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu
Curtis Jones
Curtis Jones made a disastrous pass(Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
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Curtis Jones suffered a nightmare on his Champions League debut for Inter Milan after his sloppy error allowed Real Madrid to take the lead on Tuesday night.
The former Liverpool midfielder joined the Serie A side in the summer and would have hoped to get off to a better start, having started his career with the Nerazzurri well. Jones was being pressed by former team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold when he sent an errant pass in the direction of Yann Bisseck.
Jones was caught hanging onto the ball too long as he moved from the halfway line back towards his side's defensive third. Under some light pressure, the 25-year-old looked to squeeze the ball through a tight angle and left work for Bisseck to do.
The Inter defender lacked any conviction in his touch and failed to win the 50/50 that followed, allowing Los Blancos to fully take advantage, and Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring. Jones could only watch as Alexander-Arnold and another former clubmate, Ibrahima Konate, joined the celebrations.
The only thing sparing Jones' blushes was that his goalkeeper made an even more audacious error just nine minutes later. With Real Madrid pressing once again, Josep Martinez received the ball almost on his goal line before attempting a turn via a backheel, only to be caught in possession.
Federico Valverde quickly closed him down to bundle the ball into the net and send Real Madrid into a 2-0 lead, having sparingly touched the ball.
The moment was in stark contrast to Jones' outing last week, when he played a crucial role for Inter in an impressive comeback against Napoli. Inter were 2-1 down with eight minutes remaining when Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez scored to turn the home side's fortunes around.
Curtis Jones
Curtis Jones started in midfield against Real Madrid(Image: Mattia Pistoia - Inter/Inter via Getty Images)
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Speaking to CBS Sports after the win, Jones said: "I just feel at home with the lads. Since the first day, they've been unbelievable and so I can just be myself. Of course I've got a point to prove but I know that if I'm just myself, the lads will like me, the staff and the fans as well.
"I've just been allowed to go and be me and just enjoy the game and not feeling that I've got to prove anybody wrong. I feel like the lads already know what I'm capable of.
"I've played against them and they've watched games and now the platform is there to go and show it. The lads and the staff are great."