Liverpool lost 2-0 away at Chelsea on Tuesday night.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has told the Liverpool Echo that he thought Curtis Jones showed great signs against Chelsea – but kept giving the ball away.
The Reds made the trip to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, taking on Chelsea in the FA Cup with a spot in the quarter-finals up for grabs.
Liverpool were looking to hit back from the 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, but fell to another defeat as Willian and Ross Barkley found the net in a 2-0 win for Chelsea.
It’s now three defeats in four in all competitions for Liverpool, and they haven’t scored in any of those defeats, so there wasn’t much for Reds fans to shout about last night.
Still, Liverpool fans did see youngsters Neco Williams and Curtis Jones start again, and Klopp praised both players after the final whistle.
Klopp talked up midfielder Jones, believing he saw things from him last night that made him say ‘wow, what a player’, which is hugely exciting.
However, Klopp added that those promising moments were followed by Jones losing the ball, and believes the only way he will learn is to play through the errors and improve.
“Curtis showed so many things tonight when people thought ‘wow, what a player’ then you lose the ball,” said Klopp. “That’s a learning process. You can’t learn it at home in your living room, you have to learn it on the pitch and react to it,” he added.
Jones has already had moments of magic this season, most notably his stunning winner against Everton in January’s FA Cup tie, but at 19, it’s understandable that he still has some way to go yet.
Jones has though been identified as a player to replace Adam Lallana when his contract expires this summer, and Klopp will hope to see progress from him before that happens.
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