Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones aimed a brutal dig at Merseyside rivals Everton in the wake of the Reds’ derby win on Sunday.
It looked as though the points would be shared in the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium, but Virgil van Dijk’s late header ensured Liverpool left victorious.
Everton players were left with their heads in their hands at the result, as they suffered a blow in their push to qualify for Europe.
The Toffees are 10th in the Premier League standings, but would have gone sixth with a win. Three points would have seen them move just two points behind Liverpool, too, in a race to qualify for the Champions League.
Instead, they find themselves out of the European places and eight points behind the Reds with five matches to play.
And Jones wasted no time in poking fun at Liverpool’s rivals after the game. The 25-year-old, who was born in Liverpool, suggested the idea that Everton could have taken pleasure in hunting his side down shows the gap between the two clubs.
‘I mean, look, it shows the team that we are and the team that they are,’ he told Viaplay after Sunday’s game. ‘They are celebrating that they are two points behind us in one of our worst years.
‘If that’s what they take as a stepping stone or a step in the right direction, then I don’t know.
‘We don’t think about teams that are catching us. We only ever look forward and we know that we have to play in the Champions League.’
Jones has history of showing emotion in the Merseyside derby. He was sent off in February last year after taking exception to Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure’s celebrations after the Toffees scored a last-minute equaliser.
He also revealed he missed van Dijk’s winner on Sunday because he was clashing with an Everton fan.
Jones told talkSPORT: ‘I didn’t even see him, actually. I was having a little bit of back-and-forth with fans, then I’ve heard a big roar and stuff like that. I’ve seen Virgil then run, so then I’ve obviously seen the goal, so that’s why I just laughed at the fans. It was great, it was a great day and I’m happy.’
He is the only Liverpool-born player in the first-team set-up at the Reds following the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the summer, but his future is in doubt beyond this season.
Jones was subject to interest from Tottenham this year, and, with his contract up at the end of next season, it is unclear if he will still be a Liverpool player in a few months’ time. As Daily Mail Sport have reported, Inter Milan have shown interest.
