Liverpool star Curtis Jones admitted he has a "smile on his face again" after impressing on his first start under Arne Slot in the 5-1 win over West Ham in Carabao Cup.
Jones has struggled with a muscle injury this season and has been slowly building up his fitness - featuring off the bench twice so far before his Dutch boss opted to pick him in his starting line-up.
The 23-year-old did not disappoint as he played the full 90 minutes, brilliantly setting up Diogo Jota by charging towards the edge of the area and threading a perfect through ball that slipped through a sea of West Ham players before the Portuguese forward converted.
Jones will be glad to be back on the pitch having also missed a chunk of last season through various injury problems - and he told Sky Sports he is now just focused on playing as much football as possible.
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"I just want to play," he said. "It's been hard, I've had an injury and stuff but now I'm back and playing games with a smile on my face."
Jones has been with Liverpool since the age of nine and signed his first professional terms in 2018. He has gone on to play 136 times for his boyhood club, scoring 16.
Despite suffering from fitness issues last season, he still managed to play 36 games in all competitions, scoring five times, with 14 start in the Premier League under Jurgen Klopp.
Jones and Jota - who netted a brace - were both interviewed by Sky Sports after the game, with the Portuguese forward insisting the team found the game tough despite the positive scoreline.
"The result said [it was comfortable] but the game was completely different. I think they made it hard for us, it was a good game in general and we're just happy to go through. It's important when you're down to get that [equaliser] as quick as possible and to score at Anfield, it's always special so happy to help the team."
Cody Gakpo also scored a double, with Mohamed Salah on the scoresheet too, and Jota said Liverpool showed they were still learning to adapt to Arne Slot's methods as he praised them for bouncing back from a goal down.
"We have just one defeat. We are still progressing, still developing our ideas - but only by winning games you become better so we are happy. It's hard but we want to win again obviously, we are the reigning champions and we want to forget."
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