Curtis Jones scored a quickfire brace to help Liverpool to a 3-0 win over Leicester to maintain their hopes of Champions League qualifications.
Liverpool came into the game knowing that a place in next season’s Champions League was out of their hands, with Manchester United and Newcastle both four points clear ahead of the final run-in, while Leicester are staring down the relegation barrel following a season of struggle.
After an even opening, Liverpool took the lead in the 33rd minute, a long ball upfield from Alisson picking out the run of Luis Diaz down the left, before it was moved across to the right to Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian clipped a delicious ball over the Foxes’ defence to pick out the run of Curtis Jones from deep before the academy graduate did well to steer it past Daniel Iversen with a first-time finish.
Three minutes later and the Reds doubled their advantage, and once again it was Salah who laid the ball into the advanced Jones, the midfielder taking a lovely touch to turn and set himself before he lashed past the Danish goalkeeper with his second touch.
It was almost three straight from the kick-off as Liverpool caught the Foxes in possession, only for Cody Gakpo’s effort to be fired straight at the ‘keeper, as boos rang out around the King Power stadium.
Despite the peril they face, Leicester were unable to muster a reaction, and with 20 minutes to play, the Reds made it 3-0 in sensational style. Mo Salah rolled his studs over a Liverpool free-kick to alter the angle, before Trent Alexander-Arnold thundered home a stunning strike from 25 yards.
The win means Liverpool have now won seven games on the spin as they look to make a late assault on the top four places, somewhere they haven’t been all season, and speaking after the game, Curtis Jones felt it was his best ever performance in Liverpool shirt.
Liverpool have now won 7 games in a row:
✅ vs. Leeds
✅ vs. Nottingham Forest
✅ vs. West Ham
✅ vs. Tottenham
✅ vs. Fulham
✅ vs. Brentford
✅ vs. LeicesterFinding form at the perfect time. 📈 pic.twitter.com/2nsAeXjIav
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) May 15, 2023
“I think so yeah, definitely. It was a game where I had the ball a lot and I scored two as well,” he told Sky Sports.
“I was off for 15 weeks, I had a hard time, so now I’m back and I’m in the team, scoring goals and helping the team. I’ll just try to continue.
“We do a lot of shooting in training. I’m playing games and settling in. You get more by being around the box so that’s what I’m doing. The day before a game we always have a [shooting] competition.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold has operated in a more advanced midfield role in recent weeks, and Jones felt that the 24-year-old’s new role has helped his own game.
“Yes definitely, it allows me to stay high,” he said.
“I want to score and assist more. Having him there as a player who is calm on the ball, it allows me to stay between the lines. It’s working well and I hope it continues.”
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold was full of praise for teammate Jones following his recent resurgence for the Reds.
“It’s not just been tonight, but since he came back into the team. He is a lad who would want to have played more but he has stepped up when he has got his chance.
“He has definitely impressed everyone. He sets standards for himself and we need to keep that as a team. Tonight was an outstanding night for him.
“We’re blessed to have players who can score goals. He is a midfielder who can score goals and in the system we play we need that. We try to create overloads. That’s the responsibility of the team. Curtis can arrive in the box and finish.”
