Liverpool's Curtis Jones was the star as they beat Porto in the Champions League.
Curtis Jones had become the forgotten man in Liverpool's midfield. He can thank Harvey Elliott for that.
Elliott was a regular starter for Liverpool in place of the departed Gini Wijnaldum before suffering an injury at Leeds. Jones had previously been the up-and-coming young midfielder last season. With Elliott out, Jones started and scored in the Premier League at the weekend.
He followed up that impressive performance with another strong display against Porto in the Champions League.
It wasn't necessarily a difficult game for the young midfielder but he was instrumental in the effectiveness of the Liverpool attack.
Jones played in a midfield with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. Fabinho sat, while Henderson mostly played forward through the middle. That allowed Jones to drift out to the left flank, where he spent most of the game combining with Andrew Robertson and Sadio Mane to pull the Porto defence apart.
It was from that position where he set in motion Liverpool's two goals in the first half.
Legend:
1 - 2 awful
3 - 4 bad
5 - 6 average
7 - good
8 - very good
9 - exceptional
10 - Christian Eriksen in the Aviva
Liverpool
Alisson – 5.5
For more than an hour, Alisson only had two saves to make and wasn't involved in the game at all. Porto scored a header that the goalkeeper couldn't have done anything to prevent.
James Milner – 4 (subbed off 65')
Although Liverpool dominated this game, Milner had a noticeably poor outing. His cross for Mane's goal was solid, even if the keeper should have collected it, but that was his only real bright spot throughout the game. All of Porto's limited success in attack came down his channel as he was repeatedly found wanting in challenges and lost the ball unecessarily on too many occasions.
Porto had their first shot on target in the 37th minute. How did they get it? Milner cleared the ball down the middle straight to a Porto defender before it was worked back to his channel where the attacker had too much space to get a shot off. He's lucky the Porto player fluffed his lines.
Porto's Otavio, right, vies for the ball with Liverpool's Andrew Robertson during the Champions League group B soccer match between FC Porto and Liverpool at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)Andy Robertson – 8.5
Robertson was his typically aggressive self from the start, searching for Mohamed Salah with two balls into the box. Both just missed their target, but Robertson did play in Curtis Jones whose shot on goal led to Liverpool's opening goal. A marauding run into the box soon after almost created a second goal for Diogo Jota.
Mane played Robertson in on goal early in the second half. He got a good strike off but the angle was always playing in the goalkeeper's favour.
Virgil Van Dijk – 6.5
Van Dijk sleep-walked through this game. For most players that would be a criticism. For him it was just that easy.
Joel Matip- 7.5
As Porto retreated to contain the Liverpool front three, the Liverpool center backs fit into two distinctly separate roles. Matip played higher upfield and was more involved in winning the ball as it was played to his side of the field. Van Dijk was left to clean up in behind, but not much got past Matip to ever reach him.
Fabinho – 6
With Porto offering little threat in attack and no control in midfield, Fabinho had a quiet game. He went about his business effectively, winning the ball back when it was played forward from deep and keeping it moving to his teammates in more advanced positions. His only real negative was not winning the ball on the edge of his own box just before Porto's goal.
Curtis Jones - 9
Jones was the protagonist for Liverpool's dominating win. He played a key role in each of their four goals, first driving into the box after Robertson found him on the wing to get a shot on goal. The rebound fell to Salah who scored. He kept the ball in then instigated the attack for Liverpool's second goal, before driving from midfield before picking out Salah in the box for Liverpool's third. It was his long ball upfield that allowed Firmino to score from distance for Liverpool's fourth.
He, Mane and Robertson repeatedly combined to pull the Porto defence apart.
Jordan Henderson – 6.5 (subbed off 72')
Henderson won't have much to remember from his 400th Liverpool game. The only standout moment that Henderson had was a free kick from deep that forced a good save from the Porto goalkeeper. Besides that, he conceded the spotlight to Curtis Jones. He spent most of the game retaining possession in midfield and linking play in the final third.
Mohamed Salah – 7 (subbed off 65')
Outside of scoring two goals, Salah didn't really do anything of significance.
Outside of scoring two goals...
Sadio Mane – 8 (subbed off 65')
Although his goal was a fortunate tap-in, Mane being in the perfect spot at the perfect time wasn't an aberation or coincidence. Liverpool's threat mostly came from the left side throughout this game and Mane's movement off the ball created all sorts of problems for the Porto defence. He kept creating space and opportunities for Jones and Robertson to attack through.
He was his usual tidy, composed self when linking up with teammates in midfield and in the final third.
Diogo Jota – 6.5 (subbed off 88')
A moment of indecision cost Jota early in the second half when he was alive to a poor clearance in the box. He tried to go around the keeper when the situation called for him to hit the ball first time. He showed greater decisiveness soon after with a powerful shot from outside the box that forced the keeper into an acrobatic save but then wasted another clear cut chance on the hour mark when Robertson found him in the box.
While he was wasteful in front of goal, Jota was energetic and effective in the final third throughout the game.
Substitutions
Roberto Firmino – 7
Only moments after replacing Salah, Firmino almost broke through to score. The Brazilian forward pressed high upfield and won the ball in attack but just lost it at the vital moment. He would eventually get his goal after a long ball from Curtis Jones upfield saw him score from distance when the goalkeeper got lost in space.
A second came when the ball rebounded to him in the box and he finished emphatically past the goalkeeper.
Joe Gomez – 4.5
The Porto goal came soon after Gomez came on as he had a poor headed clearance before letting the attacker get across his body to score. Soon after that, he allowed a high ball to drop in space as he couldn't find it in the lights. He didn't appear to be fully ready to play when he came off the bench.
Takumi Minamino - 5
Minamino never really got into the game to do anything right or wrong. He kept the shape of the team and showed good energy but had little possession.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Divock Origi
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
