ITV commentator Lee Dixon couldn’t believe how good Curtis Jones was for Liverpool vs Norwich City on Wednesday evening. The Scouser was heavily involved.
Jurgen Klopp named a fairly strong side to face Norwich City at Anfield. He also took a chance to rest several players after 120 intense minutes against Chelsea on Sunday, however – a testament to the Reds’ squad depth.
One player who came into the XI was Curtis Jones, who played in the Liverpool midfield with Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It was an opportunity for the youngster in the wake of Thiago’s injury. A good display could put him in the mix for upcoming games.
And it’s an opportunity Jones took. His first half was fantastic as he mostly ran the show. Jones created chances, moved the ball well and was incredibly unlucky not to score with a wonderful curling effort.
But it was how often he got involved that really caught commentator Lee Dixon’s attention.
“They must have an unwritten rule that every two or three passes, they’ve got to pass to Jones,” he said on ITV. “He’s had the ball left, right, centrally, short, deep. Must have had 300 passes already.”
Curtis Jones shines for Liverpool vs Norwich
Now, obviously, Jones didn’t make 300 passes. He actually made 36 in the first-half, per Whoscored, which wasn’t even the most in the Liverpool side.
But going forward, he was consistently the link between midfield and attack. Jones completed exactly three times as many as Oxlade-Chamberlain, for instance – someone largely playing the same role. He also completed the same number as every Liverpool forward combined.
And so Liverpool really did turn to Jones to get things moving here. It’s wonderful to see as moving the ball into threatening areas is the player’s greatest strength – metrics showed that before the season.
Long may this continue, then. Jones is only getting better and seeing him take charge of games is a fantastic next step.
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