Liverpool continued their excellent Premier League form on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Anfield.
The Reds made a poor start to the home encounter and fell behind with just 14 minutes on the clock.
However, the Merseyside giants made a brilliant comeback in the second-half as Cody Gakpo equalised before Mohamed Salah curled a beauty into the far corner.
With Manchester City losing at Bournemouth, Liverpool’s success meant they reclaimed the top spot in the league table.
Alan Pardew was left hugely impressed with the Reds’ display as he claimed they are real title contenders this season.
The 63-year-old also praised Curtis Jones for his impact off the bench in Saturday’s home victory, saying the midfielder has been ‘absolutely terrific’ this season.
Pardew said on talkSPORT: “This is why I think they are real title contenders. He (Slot) takes off two great players, right? And then replaces them with Jones who has been absolutely terrific, probably one of their players of the season so far. Diaz. They are the two he brings on at 66 minutes and changed the game. When you are bringing on world-class players like that it makes the game a little bit easier when you are not playing well. They lifted the game. Salah suddenly got a chance, banged it into the top corner and they won the game”.
Jones missed the first few matches through injury but he has been a key player for Liverpool in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old struck the winner in their 2-1 victory against Chelsea last month.
He started on the bench in Saturday’s home match against Brighton but made a huge impact after being introduced in the second-half by Arne Slot.
It was his run and pass that led to the goal for Salah after 72 minutes.
Jones was on the pitch for just 24 minutes but he had 17 touches to his name.
The 23-year-old also boasted 100% passing accuracy and 100% long balls in the game.
Stats from Sofascore
