A few obvious stars were singled out for praise following Liverpool’s dismantling of Porto in the Champions League.
One man’s performance a handful of players and Jurgen Klopp were keen to highlight following the 5-1 victory, however, was that of 20-year-old Curtis Jones’.
“Yes, every goal! He’s a really good player,” Fabinho spoke to the club’s official website.
“He needed this, to play every three days, it’s important for him for his rhythm.
“Physically, he’s really good and then with the ball, we know if we give the ball to him he will turn, he will create something special because he’s a really talented player.
“So, I’m happy for him with his performance and I hope he will keep playing well like this.”
The Brazilian international’s thoughts were echoed by skipper Jordan Henderson, with the Englishman keen to highlight his fellow midfielder’s maturity.
“Curtis has been fantastic,” the 31-year-old told liverpoolfc.com.
“I know, on paper, he’s so young, but I feel as though he has been around the first team for a few years now, he has settled in really well, he has matured really well.
“And now you’re starting to see what a good player he is over the last few weeks.
“He has had to be a little bit patient at the beginning of the season but he’s come in and he’s done fantastically well.
“You can see he has got all the attributes to be a top player.
“I feel as though he is maturing all the time and he’s putting in some really good performances to help the team.”
The Reds’ manager revealed that the Academy graduate had struggled with illness prior to the meeting with the Primeira Liga outfit; a remarkable update considering the quality of the player’s performance in the ensuing game.
“Curtis played a good game,” the German told liverpoolfc.com.
“He had some problems a little bit with the stomach before the game; they told me I need to keep an eye on him but I told him after the game whatever it is, keep it because it was really a good game.
“He played a really good game, he was everywhere, he was involved in everything.
“Set up the first goal with a surprising finish, goalie cannot save it.
“In a lot of other situations he was really there – maybe not as spectacular as the offensive stuff, but defensively he played a top-class game.
“He defended really well, pressed from the blind side, a lot of things I liked a lot about his performance tonight.”
Given the injuries we’ve encountered in the middle of the park, it’s promising that Jones has since produced a couple of strong performances in back-to-back fixtures.
With Naby Keita a potential to return to action in our upcoming crucial meeting with Manchester City in the English top-flight, we’ll need our fringe stars to consistently deliver the kind of outings we’ve become accustomed to this season.
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