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It’s probably fair to say that Diogo Jota’s beginning of life at Anfield has been as good as anything he and Liverpool fans could have hoped for.
In April, I singled out Jota as a player who would be an ideal candidate for Jurgen Klopp’s team, but even I am amazed at the speed with which he has apparently risen to his feet at the club.
Klopp gave him a Champions League start through Liverpool’s center of attack on Tuesday night and of course rewarded his coach with a very impressive hattrick.
He has now scored six goals in his four previous Liverpool appearances. However, beyond the goals, it was his complete attacking game that also stood out on Tuesday.
In that game against Atalanta, he dropped well between the lines, occupying defenders and creating windows for Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah to make penetrating runs behind. He also showed excellent movement on the defense’s last shoulder, timing his runs exquisitely.
In many ways it offered a full Roberto Firmino exhibition, albeit with a more direct and clinical advantage.
Below is how he seemed to put on a number 9 screen more traditional than we expected from that role with Firmino playing the last few seasons. As Sam points out, Jota (FW) was as advanced as Salah (RW) in the evening.
His performance on Tuesday night has put him in a real fight to start Sunday’s decisive clash with his title rivals Manchester City.
It should really come as no surprise that he is pressuring Liverpool’s key attackers for a place in the starting eleven, however it is somewhat unexpected that it appears that it is Firmino who is at the highest risk of missing out.
This is because before his arrival, although he had played in different positions in attack, Jota’s profile seemed more comparable to that of Mane. He and Liverpool’s Senegal star both possess speed, skill and are right-handed, making them a real threat when it comes to cutting on the inside to take shots at goal.
However, perhaps what we are learning is how versatile Jota is, which means that he is the ideal candidate to provide that much-needed coverage for all areas of Liverpool’s attack this season.
We talked about this on the most recent episode of Analyzing Anfield, and in that, I pointed out how he had somehow filled that void Liverpool feared they might have had after they missed out on signing Timo Werner in the summer.
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On the show I said: “It’s almost the profile that everyone expected Timo Werner to have and the reason Liverpool wanted him initially, but for me Jota has basically become that player and has filled that gap.”
I said this because one of the most attractive aspects of Werner’s profile was his ability not only to score and create goals, but also to do the same from all areas of attack.
What we’re already seeing is that Jota also has the potential to do this. The big difference is that Jota effectively cost around £ 30 million when you consider the value of the sale of Ki-Jana Hoever to Wolves, while Werner would have cost more than £ 50 million.
Of course, it’s still the early days, but it seems based on the evidence so far, Liverpool may one day look back and toast that Jota is another of their recent transfer success stories.
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