Liverpool Lost Diogo Jota, But Enjoy Curtis Jones' Greatness

JAKARTA - Liverpool will play week 11 of the 2024/2025 Inggri League to host Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday, November 10, 2024.

The Reds manager, Arne Slot, had to lose Diogo Jota. He didn't expect the forward to be out for a long time.

Jota has been sidelined since Liverpool won 2-1 over Chelsea on October 20, 2024. He is expected to return after the international break.

Slot could not divulge the injury suffered by the Portuguese player.

"There is privacy about this. He will return in one or two games after the international break," said Arne Slot.

The international break will start next week for about a week.

Liverpool will only start competing again on November 24, 2024, against Southampton.

Despite losing Jota, Arne Slot is enjoying the excitement of Curtis Jones' appearance.

He will obviously be the main option to guard the Reds' second line in the match against Aston Villa amid a storm of injuries that hit the team.

Jones' slick performances in seven matches in all competitions led him to be called Lee Carsley to strengthen the England national team in the two games remaining this year in the UEFA Nations League.

Curtis Jones has been shining in recent weeks. Most recently, he provided Luis Diaz with an extraordinary through ball to score in a 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

Arne Slot said Jones had brought his game to a higher level since the birth of his daughter Giselle on October 13, 2024.

"Sejak ia menjadi seorang ayah, ia mulai bermain dengan sangat baik. Dia memiliki banyak kualitas dalam penguasan bola."

"When he controls it, he's never afraid to do anything special. Sometimes he's a little too confident, but confidence is important."

"He also has a very high working rate and we can trust him in defense," said Slot.

This is Jones' second summons to the Three Lions. However, he has never made his debut with the England national team.

Seeing his performance at Liverpool, it is not impossible that Jones will make his UK debut against Greece (15 November 2024) or the Republic of Ireland (18 November 2024).

Meanwhile, despite being faced with many injured players, Arne Slot is in high confidence in the team.

He realized Jurgen Klopp had inherited a very strong team whatever his condition was.

So far, Liverpool have won 14 of 16 games in all competitions since Slot took control at Anfield.

In the match against Aston Villa later, Slot clearly targets victory to remain at the top of the Premier League standings.

Liverpool have a two-point advantage over defending champions Manchester City who are on the second stairs.

"I don't think surprise is the right word to use because I know the quality of our team."

"However, quality is one thing and consistency is another. I'm not surprised because I see the energy my players give me every day."

"Sometimes a little bit of luck goes with it. Most of the results we get are worth it, but some of them are almost the same."

"When I started working with them, I saw how much effort they made to get this result," Arne Slot told a news conference on Friday, November 8, 2024, local time.

Apart from appearing solid in the Premier League, Liverpool's journey in the Champions League is also classy.

They are temporarily leading the standings by sweeping wins in four matches. The Reds are the only team to always win in the Champions League this season.