Liverpool fans have praised Diogo Jota after his debut goal against Arsenal.
The new arrival was introduced to the game as a second half substitute and made an instant impact.
He could have scored three goals but will have to settle for the one; a magnificently taken volley from outside the area. After hitting the side netting and having the ball nicked off his toes by Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota got third time lucky.
Liverpool could have been down to 10 minutes after less than three minutes as Kieran Tierney felt Sadio Mane’s wrath when Senegal star sent an elbow into the Scot’s jaw. We’ve seen red cards for less, and there was a consideration reaction to the incident.
Andy Robertson was at fault for Arsenal’s first goal. His horrendous effort to clear a bouncing ball failed miserably and Alexander Lacazette was on hand to scuff the ball into the back of the net.
Mane grabbed the equaliser after Gunner goalkeeper Bernd Leno pushed a Mohamed Salah shot into his path, while Robertson scored the second after profiting from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross.
Jota made it three, and Liverpool fans were quick to constart the fortunes of their new Portuguese star with the struggles of former target Timo Werner.
Werner signed for Chelsea but is yet to get off the mark for Frank Lampard’s team, who came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with West Brom over the weekend.
Diogo Jota has scored a goal but Timo werner needs 5 years to settle 🤔
— JEFF TYMER 🇬🇭🏴 (@Jeff_Tymer_) September 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/ThatRexGuy/status/1310685425896435712
Jota came on with just 10 minutes to go and caused terror across the whole of Mikel Arteta’s defence. It was a fine example of what he can do; the Carabao Cup game against Arsenal will be a good chance to test that over 90 minutes.
Manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted with his substitutes’ effort, reported the BBC.
"“I’m really pleased for Diogo Jota. Top, top guy. It’s so difficult to improve a team like ours. He’s been on my list for two or three years, he’s here now.”"
The Evening Standard provided some additional quotes.
"“Jota came on, just played natural, his football. [He] tried to defend the way we defend. He’s on 20 per cent of information on what we do exactly.“We had meetings to talk about but it all will take time and today he had like 60/70 minutes’ time to see how Sadio is doing it, and came on the pitch and did incredibly well.”"
Would Liverpool have been better off with Werner? It’s hard to say. The two are different players but Jota has hit the ground running and that’s always good to see.