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Jurgen Klopp paid a special tribute to Diogo Jota when the £ 45 million man unleashed himself in Italy to prove it was money well spent.
The summer signing scored a magnificent Champions League hattrick against Atalanta, to give Liverpool full control of their group, and their coach purred afterward.
“For tonight it made sense to use the good form Diogo was in, and it was clear the way Atalanta plays, Diogo’s skills help,” Klopp said.
“He used his form in an incredible way and played a super, super game.
“But I don’t think any system could have defended us tonight. Sadio, Mo and Diogo for the way they play and the support they received from others.
“It wasn’t about the system, it was about the way we played. Exceptional.”
(Image: Reuters)
Jota became the third player in Liverpool’s glorious European history to score a hat trick on the road, after Michael Owen twice and Sadio Mane, when the Reds put on an impressive display.
The 5-0 beating leaves Klopp with a headache for the weekend against Manchester City, after dropping Roberto Firmino to form a brilliant in front of the three with a new look … but he insisted that it was the right kind of problem.
(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“Good performances never give me a headache,” he added.
“But the world is sometimes in a really bad place, when at this moment someone is shining, we immediately talk about another player, and I immediately have to explain why he is on the team.
“We wouldn’t even be in the Champions League if Bobby Firmino wasn’t with us. He will be on the team and he is one of us.
“Many people in the world ask what makes Liverpool special, I would say that Bobby Firmino plays.
(Image: PA)
“For us it is important that we are over 11, and Diogo tonight, but that says nothing about Bobby and it has absolutely nothing to do with my having a headache.
“I’m more than happy with the way the guys played tonight, they were amazing.”
Klopp also reserved special praise for teenager Rhys Williams, who belied his tender years for producing a composite display at the heart of defense in the absence of Virgil van Dijk.
(Image: Getty Images)
Playing alongside Joe Gomez, creating the 35th starting central defensive association in Klopp’s reign, he was outstanding and the manager said: “I couldn’t be happier for Rhys.
“Rhys was exceptional. You should see him in the dressing room, you couldn’t take the smile off his face, it would be impossible and it’s really cool to see.
“I can’t imagine being 19 years old and playing my second adult game in the Champions League against Zapata, it’s incredible.
“I would be very nervous and the boys obviously not.”
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