Curtis Jones outshines all Liverpool players as Steven Gerrard’s mold takes shape

Liverpool had a disappointing performance in their 1-1 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

The Reds deserve credit for struggling in the second half after a desperately poor 45-minute start, but they have yet to reach the soaring levels they have established in recent seasons.

When a team is fighting, they need their older players to stand up and be counted. They have dealt with such difficulties before, they have the experience, and they can draw on your knowledge to help them turn the tide in their direction.

Alisson Becker had a good game at Fulham, and he certainly kept Liverpool in the game. But once they were behind, the Reds needed their established attacking stars to help them regain a point.

Except it was 19-year-old Curtis Jones who had the biggest impact on the game, as he continued his development with another in a collection of excellent recent performances.

The young scouser topped the Reds’ rankings in shots, chances created, and successful dribbles, except in each case it was with a different player: Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane for those three stats respectively.

Jones was directly involved in five shots as he had three of his own and created chances for Mane and Salah. It was more goal attempts than any other Liverpool player contributed, and that doesn’t include their part in the draw.

Having exchanged passes with Firmino, Jones was brought down by Ivan Cavaleiro (and ‘fouls suffered’ was another list he led). Gini Wijnaldum’s subsequent free kick hit Aboubakar Kamara in the arm, allowing Salah to equalize from the penalty spot.

Then Liverpool’s number 17 made the only shot both sides had between penalty and full time as well. But that understates what Jones did to get to that point, as he received the ball to the Reds’ half half of the half and drove towards goal in a manner similar to Steve McManaman’s famous goal against Celtic.

There were also nuances to Steven Gerrard’s first Liverpool goal, with the only shame that Jones couldn’t find the end to match the quality of his career.

While that moment attracted more attention than most for the central midfielder, it was part of an effort to set a personal record. His total of 77 ball carries, with a cumulative distance of 290 yards to the opposition goal, were personal marks in his fledgling career (according to FBRef).

He left two Fulham players in his wake during his career for his final goal attempt, a total he had only surpassed in two previous full matches, regardless of a single run.

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Jones also made a change on defense. His total of 17 pressures on opposing players with the ball was not the highest by a Liverpool player on Sunday, but it was only one less than what leader Firmino offered.

Most interestingly, 12 of them – nearly a quarter of the team’s total of 51 – were successful, meaning the Reds regained possession within five seconds of Jones closing off a man in white (according to FBRef) .

And on a day when Liverpool gave up the ball too often, the 19-year-old was at least stable in possession. He was unsuccessful with just four of his 83 passes in total, and dominated the final third completing at least 11 more passes than any other player managed (per Stat Zone).

There were times when he held onto the ball a little too much, perhaps, but that’s one area of ​​his game that will improve with experience. The foundations are certainly there, and he is becoming an essential part of Jurgen Klopp’s starting eleven.