When Liverpool signed Diogo Jota from Wolves in September, many felt he would be a good addition to the squad, and provide the much-needed depth of quality that this side needed following their Premier League-winning campaign.
The Portuguese forward cost £41 million, and was certainly going to help in terms of rotation for our front three – but in fact, Jota has hit the ground running with 6 goals in his last 4 games, including a hattrick against Atalanta last night, and is threatening the front three that the Reds faithful have got used to watching.
Jota has certainly found his goal scoring form under Jurgen Klopp and is starting to threaten the starting place of Roberto Firmino in the front three, something that has come as a surprise for the Liverpool faithful.
This season, Jota has managed 7 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions for the Reds, with 6 of those coming from his last four games. This smothers Firmino’s goalscoring statistic not just for this season, but for 2020 as a whole.
Since the start of the year, the Brazilian forward has scored just 5 goals from more than 2,400 minutes of football, compared to Jota’s 6 goals in just 480 minutes of play.
Jota’s form has started to sway the balance in the Liverpool starting lineup, leaving Klopp with a difficult decision on who should play alongside Sadio Mané and Mo Salah.
Who would you start against Man City?
Diogo Jota
Roberto Firmino
I feel like Jota’s recent run of form is putting real pressure on Firmino to up his goalscoring ability and find his shooting boots – yes he has never been that type of forward, and his role in the side has often been to help free up space and opportunity for Mané and Salah, but with the now inclusion of Jota, the Portuguese forward is able to do both roles with great effect.
Only time will tell as to whether Firmino will find himself on the bench more often than usual in the future, but one thing for certain is that the inform Diogo Jota should start against Manchester City on Sunday.
What do you think Reds, can Jota become a star with Liverpool? Let us know down below…