Curtis Jones embodies Steven Gerrard as Liverpool pass toughest test under Arne Slot

When Arne Slot had suggested Chelsea were potential champions, it posed the question of whether they could keep up with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. It soon transpired they could not keep up with the Joneses.

Or not Curtis Jones, anyway. Winners are not always scored by the best player on the pitch but, in a match that could shape two clubs’ seasons, this one was. Jones’ display of extraordinary dynamism restored Liverpool to the top of the table. It meant that Chelsea, already beaten by Manchester City, have failed their two biggest tests of the season so far. Liverpool, now seven points clear of them, have passed their toughest.

They did so courtesy of a couple of very different indictments of Chelsea’s transfer business. Many a charge can be levelled at Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, but it was a previous Chelsea regime which let Mohamed Salah leave. With a goal and an assist, he gave them added reasons to regret a past mistake. If Jones is precisely the kind of player the modern-day Chelsea would sell, Liverpool do not need to dispense with homegrown talents for pure profit. Jones joined them at nine. At 23, he had one of his finest afternoons in a red shirt.

Chelsea’s encouraging start under Enzo Maresca has meant there have been fewer references to their spending but they fielded central midfielders who cost some £280m. Two of them, Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, attracted big bids from Liverpool in 2023 and the Ecuadorian, in his defence, created a goal with a defence-splitting pass.

Yet the game revolved around Jones. He exerted a magnetism as well as a decisiveness that echoed another Liverpudlian midfielder, Steven Gerrard. Jones materialised in his own box to make a potentially goal-saving block on Cole Palmer and in Chelsea’s to be awarded two penalties: the first scored by Salah, the second overturned by referee John Brooks. He provided the template of a midfielder’s run from deep, ghosting in unchecked for the decider. From his emergence, Jones has shown the personality to flourish on the major occasions. This was just his third start for Slot and, prestigious as victory at Old Trafford is, perhaps the Dutchman’s most meaningful triumph to date.

It nevertheless felt more like a game from Jurgen Klopp’s time. A frantic ending, capped by Andy Robertson’s 97th-minute block from Malo Gusto, showed it lacked the control Slot prizes. There was a ragged feel, players charging everywhere, bodies at times strewn on the pitch. There were hints of last winter, when Jones was in the finest form of his Liverpool career, when Klopp’s team conjured match-winning performances from squad players. After Diogo Jota went off, Slot had only seven of his first-choice team on the pitch. Liverpool displayed their strength in depth.

That was evident particularly in midfield, where they had seemed to lack a player. Ryan Gravenberch was the first to respond after the breakdown of Liverpool’s summer move for Martin Zubimendi. Now, with Alexis Mac Allister confined to the bench for 80 minutes after injury, illness and international duty in South America, the star turn came from Jones. Slot arrowed in on his defensive contribution. “It is almost impossible to control a player like Cole Palmer for 90 minutes but Curtis was quite close to that,” he said. “And had a big, big impact in both sides of the game.”

open image in gallery

As Liverpool scored from their first shot, Salah rifling in a spot kick, he earned it when tripped by Levi Colwill. He seemed to have a second when unceremoniously upended by Robert Sanchez. While the goalkeeper had touched the ball, it still seemed a generous reprieve when Brooks rescinded his earlier decision and revoked the penalty. Liverpool could rue a review again when Nicolas Jackson, initially ruled offside as he raced on to Caicedo’s pass and slotted a shot past Caoimhin Kelleher, then saw his goal correctly given. But three minutes after the injured Alisson’s understudy was beaten, Mac Allister’s deputy struck.

Salah curled a cross in. Jones made the perfectly timed run from midfield. His first touch was imperfect but, with Sanchez slow off his line, he was able to prod in a shot with his second. His first strike since January came after Liverpool lost a scorer. Jota’s departure was delayed but he may have been hurt when hauled down by Tosin Adarabioyo after six minutes. There were similarities with Willian Saliba a day earlier, but the Chelsea defender was spared the same fate by the presence of Colwill, offering cover.

But it was the first hint of fragility from Chelsea. There were others, though their manager sounded impressed. “We controlled most of the game,” said Maresca. “We had chances, we had possession. We don’t like to lose, but if we have to choose, this is the way.” Chelsea’s defeat was only their third in 23 league games. The number suggests they could challenge but while Slot branded it “an equal game”, the result indicated that Liverpool are the contenders, Chelsea the pretenders.