Liverpool 5 -5 Arsenal
by James Nalton
at Anfield

TEENAGE midfielder Curtis Jones fired Liverpool into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup following a thriller against Arsenal on Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old, raised in the Toxteth area of Liverpool, emerged from the substitutes bench in the second half to replace Naby Keita and stepped into the game with the confidence of an experienced pro.

It was a night to remember in many ways, not least for the number of goals and the numerous swings in momentum.

It was another Liverpool comeback at Anfield, on a slightly different level to their famous 4-0 victory in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona last season, but special in its own way.

Divock Origi was the familiar face from that memorable Champions League night, and he played a big part again with two outstanding goals, but when a game goes to a penalty shootout the heroes usually emerge thanks to a shot saved or a goal scored from 12 yards.

Young Irish goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher made such a save from Dani Ceballos to give Liverpool’s penalty takers the chance to finish the job, and it was local lad Jones who stepped into Origi’s role as the hero on this occasion, quite literally.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed Origi had been down to take the all-important fifth penalty, but as the players lined up on the halfway line away from their manager, they decided between them that the order should change.

“You probably need to be born in Liverpool to do that,” said Klopp of Jones’s decision. 

“It was not my idea. When I saw the list [of penalty takers] Divock was five and Curtis four. 

“When I saw the number four coming and it was Divock, then I thought ‘OK, obviously they changed it’.”

Kelleher played his part, Origi stepped up at four and tucked away his penalty, Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored for Arsenal, meaning the outcome of this crazy cup tie rested on the shoulders of Liverpool’s fifth taker.

Jones duly put his penalty to the right of Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and celebrated in front of the Kop.

“Curtis has no issue with self-confidence, he absolutely doesn’t struggle in that department,” added Klopp.

“I’m really pleased for him, just as I am pleased for Caoimhin saving that penalty.”

Not only had Jones settled into this game, perhaps having been disappointed not to start it, but he has settled into what is becoming a Liverpool tradition of winning cup games in the most dramatic of circumstances.

The line-up may have different for Liverpool, but the outcome was the same.