Arne Slot reserved special praise for Curtis Jones following Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea, highlighting how the midfielder had successfully kept Cole Palmer quiet at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah converted from the penalty spot to put hosts Liverpool in front in the 29th minute before Nicolas Jackson equalised within moments of the restart to silence the Merseyside crowd.
But Jones restored the Reds’ lead just three minutes later with a smart touch and finish past Robert Sanchez and Slot’s men held firm to secure maximum points.
Liverpool were denied two other possible penalties in what was a breathless encounter. Cody Gakpo also had a goal disallowed for offside shortly after Salah’s spot-kick.
The result saw Liverpool reclaim top spot in the Premier League after Manchester City’s dramatic win at Wolves earlier in the day, while Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea remain sixth.
‘I think everyone that saw the game knows that this wasn’t easy and I said before that Chelsea showed in the second half of last season how good a team they are,’ Slot told Sky Sports in his post-match interview.
‘They invested even more so, for us, it’s very good that we made a bit of a gap towards them because they will be, in my opinion, at the end of the season in and around the top of the Premier League.’
Jones was deservedly named man of the match for his all-action display and Slot felt the midfielder ‘controlled’ Chelsea’s danger-man, Palmer, with his performance.
‘He was very good. Very good individual performance. I think the whole team worked very hard,’ the Liverpool head coach added.
‘Curtis had a difficult job, he had to control Cole Palmer, which is not easy because this player has some quality.’
On Liverpool managing to keep Palmer quiet, Slot added: ‘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.’
Slot was booked after protesting several decisions that went against Liverpool in the match and the Dutchman was willing to admit that he ‘deserved’ to be shown a yellow card.
‘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!
‘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.’
The former Feyenoord boss gave special mention to Liverpool’s support for helping the team get over the line against a spirited Chelsea.
‘The fans really stood up today, they helped us a lot and that probably comes from these big decisions because they’re just as biased as I am!’ he went on.
‘In the end it’s a good win against a very strong Chelsea.’
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