Arne Slot singles out Liverpool star for praise for “difficult job” nullifying key Chelsea threat

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has heaped praise onto Curtis Jones for his superb performance against Chelsea yesterday in an important 2-1 Premier League win at Anfield.

Jones has been one of Liverpool’s most improved players this season, and he popped up to score the winner against Chelsea in the second half, while Slot praised him for his all-round display in midfield.

The 23-year-old finished well when Mohamed Salah set him up for his big chance in the second half, but perhaps even more impressive was the way he helped keep Blues attacking midfield maestro Cole Palmer quiet for so much of the game.

Palmer has been sensational since joining Chelsea, but he couldn’t quite get going at Anfield yesterday, and Slot singled out Jones for nullifying that threat well.

Curtis Jones praised by Arne Slot after Liverpool beat Chelsea

Speaking after the game, as quoted by the Metro, Slot said of Jones: “He was very good. Very good individual performance. I think the whole team worked very hard.

“Curtis had a difficult job, he had to control Cole Palmer, which is not easy because this player has some quality.”

Not a lot of players have been able to handle Palmer, so it’s some achievement by Jones to do such a good job whilst also being able to contribute in attack by getting forward to score the winner.

Jones is another success story of the Liverpool academy, with the England Under-21 international looking like he could go on to have a similar impact to Trent Alexander-Arnold, another homegrown player who’s developed into a world class talent for the club’s first-team.

Jamie Carragher praised Jones after the game, even suggesting his rise in the LFC midfield could now mean there’s no longer any need for Slot to go out and sign a big name like Martin Zubimendi in that position.