"He was very good" - Arne Slot praises Liverpool star for controlling Chelsea's key man Cole Palmer in 2-1 win

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has praised Curtis Jones for keeping Cole Palmer quiet in their clash against Chelsea. The Merseyside club reclaimed their lead in the Premier League table with a deserved 2-1 victory over the Blues at Anfield on Sunday, October 20.

Jones played a huge role in Liverpool’s victory. The 23-year-old won the penalty for the first goal which was calmly dispatched by Mohammed Salah in the 29th minute. He thought he had won another penalty just before the break, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review.

After Chelsea made the score 1-1 through Nicolas Jackson (48’), Jones stepped up again to restore his side’s lead in the 51st minute. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Arne Slot lauded the Englishman’s overall performance. He also praised him for ‘controlling’ Chelsea's Cole Palmer during the game.

“He was very good. Very good individual performance. I think the whole team worked very hard,” Slot said (via Metro).

He added:

“Curtis had a difficult job, he had to control Cole Palmer, which is not easy because this player has some quality. It’s a team effort but Curtis was mostly responsible for that. He did that really well and he added some really important moments to it.”

“He was two times involved in penalties and score the goal so he was, in both parts of the pitch, very important for us,” the manager concluded.

Jones has contributed one goal and one assist in seven games across competitions this season.

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“I deserve the yellow card” – Liverpool boss Arne Slot makes honest admission following victory over Chelsea

Arne Slot admitted that the yellow card he received during his side’s clash with Chelsea was deserved. The Liverpool manager was shown a yellow card in the 26th minute for protesting some decisions by referee John Brooks.

About his booking, Slot said (via Metro):

“The booking came from the fact there were three or four decisions that didn’t go in our favour,’ he explained. It was a handball… I don’t know if it was handball but everyone was screaming for it so I did as well!”

He continued:

“Then there was the red card situation, then there was the penalty situation just afterwards, so there were a few things going against us and I think sometimes you cannot hold in your emotions and that’s what you saw with me as well. I deserved the yellow card, I have to put it like this.”

Liverpool are atop the league standings with 21 points, a point above Manchester City. Their next league game will be another heavyweight clash with Arsenal at the Emirates on October 27.