DBasia.news – Curtis Jones will never forget his experience of appearing on the Merseyside Derby and scoring against the city rivals. The more special the 18-year-old midfielder does it at Anfield.
The match took place at Anfield in the FA Cup third round on Sunday (05/01) night Western Indonesian Time. Jurgen Klopp rotated Liverpool’s squad and dropped many young players – one of them Jones – while Everton was at full strength.
A tough walk at Anfield. Liverpool has 58 percent possession and Everton 42 percent. In the second half, Jones was decisive in the final result of the match with a classy goal in 71 minutes.
Receiving the ball to the right of the Everton defense, Jones fired a curling shot into the left side of the goal without being able to anticipate Jordan Pickford. His goal made Jones the youngest goalscorer on Merseyside Derby (age 18 years 340 days) after Robbie Fowler (18 years 338 days) in 1994.
The goal and the victory felt even more special for Curtis Jones. Not only is he originally born in Merseyside, Jones also fought illnesses to be able to perform on the Merseyside Derby.
“The boss (Jurgen Klopp) is strong by not showing it when you are sick and showing things when you are in difficult conditions, so I think it’s right I don’t show being sick,” Jones said on Liverpool’s official website.
“I’m glad I didn’t show it because I played and helped the team. I’m happy we won and look forward to the next round.”
Jones has been at the Liverpool academy since 2010 and was promoted to the first team last year. Scoring goals in a derby will always be the most beautiful memories for him.
“I think for me, being a young player, a local player and playing for the team I love and the fans I love is huge,” Jones added.
“I play and try to take advantage of every opportunity I get. Every game I play I try to give my best,” he said.
Jones’ great performance cannot be separated from Klopp’s spotlight. He understood very well how it felt to be a local player who played in the first team and hit the goal of the city rivals.
“A sensational match and a sensational goal from a Scouser – what else can you get better?” Klopp added.
“You can’t perform like children do, if you think you shouldn’t perform well on that team.”
“They all think so. I am very happy they all performed well tonight. The only thing I did not want was a draw. We had to take risks and it paid off,” concluded the German manager.
Curtis Jones is still unfamiliar to European football fans, especially those who are not Liverpool fans. Bolaskor.com will give a little explanation about it:
The Next Steven Gerrard
Jordan Henderson captained Liverpool after Steven Gerrard, icon and legend of the Reds. But the potential successors, in the same position (midfielder), do not yet exist. Naturally, if Curtis Jones is considered a Liverpool fan as a potential successor to Gerrard.
There is still a long way to go for the 18-year-old midfielder. Jones must continue to work hard – stay humble – to continue to improve his game in order to maximize his potential.
England national team subscription
Not the senior England national team of course. Curtis Jones must at least be able to convince Klopp to play regularly in the first team to realize the dream of defending the senior English national team.
But at a young age, Curtis Jones has a great experience because he has defended the England national team from U-16 to U-19 levels. Together with U-19 Jones has scored two goals in 23 appearances.
Integration into Liverpool First Team
Competition in the first team is tight, but that does not mean Klopp does not believe it. Slowly, Klopp merged into the first team by giving him a chance to make his Premier League debut in December 2019 against Bournemouth.
In another tournament, Jones made his FA Cup debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2019. Even so in the League Cup in September 2019 faced Milton Keynes Dons.