'Outstanding' Liverpool star makes record-breaking debut in UEFA Nations League win

Liverpool star Curtis Jones enjoyed a perfect evening on debut for England as he netted in a 3-0 win against Greece.

Jones, who was making his debut under interim boss Lee Carsley, managed to fire in a delightful backheeled finish to round off a fine victory for The Three Lions. Ollie Watkins had opened the scoring early in the first half while Jude Bellingham’s late strike bounced back off the post and in off Greece’s keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for an own goal that had given a two-goal cushion.

Hailed for his debut showing by Carsley, the ex-Everton midfielder was delighted with Jones’ performance. "It's not surprising, Curtis is an outstanding player and I thought he played really well today even without his goal. With his goal, it was an excellent performance so I'm really delighted for him."

That goal on his debut broke a 42-year Liverpool record: he became the first Red to score on his England debut in 42 years. There is an eerie coincidence with that record as well; Sammy Lee was the last person to manage the feat back in November 17, 1982, that was also in an away fixture against Greece.

For Jones, the goal capped off an all-round performance that highlighted his clear marked improvements that have taken place over the course of the last year or so. Alongside his goal, he managed: a 96% passing accuracy (65/68), seven duels won, seven possession won, four tackles, two fouls won and one interception.

His form will surely result in another starting role against Ireland in their final game of the international break. That should help him continue that momentum heading into a big run of games at club level - starting with Southampton on November 24. After that, it is Real Madrid and Manchester City within the space of a week and, given current form, he should be favoured to start in both of those games which is something that perhaps wasn’t the case even six months ago.