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‘So good’ – James Pearce reacts to what he saw from Liverpool midfielder during first-half v Aston Villa

Originally posted on Empire of the Kop
By Farrell Keeling | Last updated Feb 19, 2025 3:26 PM ET

Liverpool opted to hand a break to Luis Diaz for their encounter with Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

Curtis Jones was the man selected to shore up the left side of the pitch, with the Colombian international benched and Cody Gakpo’s recovery from a minor injury ongoing.

The 24-year-old returned to the Matchday squad after serving his one-game ban (following a sending-off after full-time at Goodison Park).

The Reds’ Academy graduate had a quiet game in the opening 45 minutes of action at Villa Park, amassing 9/10 passes (90%), winning 1/3 ground duels and coming close to carving out the opening goal.

Sofascore handed the Scouser a 6.7/10 rating for his first-half efforts.

What did Curtis Jones do against Aston Villa?

James Pearce was rightly complimentary of Jones’ remarkable footwork in the opening 20 minutes in the West Midlands.

The Athletic reporter described the footballer’s efforts as ‘so good’ on X (formerly Twitter) as he managed to work his way past a couple of Villa players before producing the goods for Dominik Szoboszlai.

What a shame that the Hungarian couldn’t get the better of Emi Martinez to seal what would have been a delightful Liverpool move!

So good from Jones to create that opening for Szoboszlai.

— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) February 19, 2025

Jones could be key for Liverpool in the coming days

It surely won’t have escaped the notice of Arne Slot or our medical department that the midfield is in desperate need of rotation.

Stephen Warnock pointed out that Alexis Mac Allister looked ‘dead on his feet’ in the aftermath of a 2-1 win over Wolves. There should also be some concern over Ryan Gravenberch’s energy levels given the Dutchman likewise looked somewhat knackered – unsurprisingly so given how heavily he’s been relied upon by Arne Slot.

With that in mind, it would be far from surprising to see Curtis Jones get called into action more frequently in this busy stretch of Premier League fixtures.

This article first appeared on Empire of the Kop and was syndicated with permission.

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