Arne Slot blown away by 'incredible' Liverpool star immediately after Bayer Leverkusen win

Arne Slot hailed Curtis Jones’ pass to create Liverpool’s opening goal against Bayer Leverkusen.

The Reds romped to a 4-0 win in the Champions League at Anfield. Luis Diaz fired a hat-trick and Cody Gakpo was also on target in a devastating second-half display.

The first period had proved a tactical battle, with Leverkusen having more of possession but Liverpool enjoying better chances. The Reds stepped up after the interval, though, and in the 61st minute they broke the deadlock. Jones slipped in Diaz with a perfectly weighted pass, with the Colombia international applying a fine lobbed finish.

Slot credited Liverpool’s improved second-half performance to taking more risks - and heaped praise on the impact of Jones. Speaking to Amazon Prime, the Reds head coach said: “I don't know if it was that much to do with intensity but we took more risk. They overloaded the midfield a lot and we adjusted a half-tine and took the risk to play one v one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren't a goal threat.

"As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster. Curtis Jones did an incredible pass and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal in my opinion.

"You don't look ahead as a manager at the next three months. You're always one game at a time. We've got Aston Villa on Saturday, another tough game."