Diogo Jota is only the second player to score in his first two starts for Liverpool after Robbie Keene in 2008.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said good performance would never give me a headache, while Diogo Iota took full advantage of his rightful place in the starting line-up with a Champions League hattrick for Atalanta.
Jotha, 23, was selected for Roberto Firmino and scored seven goals in ten games when the Reds won 5-0.
Mr. Klopp said: It is important that we have more than 11 [options] and that Diogo played a great game tonight.
Liverpool champions Liverpool will meet Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Reds take the top position in the Premier League and Pep Guardiola – 10th, five points behind their opponents, but play less of a match.
added Mr. Klopp: For tonight it was a decision – it was clear that for tonight it makes sense to take advantage of Diogo’s good form.
And the way Atalanta plays and defends clearly shows that Diogo’s skill helps.
Jay came from the Wolves for £41 million and said he had played for the best team of my career so far.
That’s what he told BT Sports: I don’t know if this is the best moment of my career, but it is clear that scoring goals is my way of playing football. I’m happy, a big victory in the Champions League, a good time and a good night.
When asked what she could bring to the Sunday game against the city, Jotha answered: Well, five goals isn’t that often you score five in a game. Even a blank sheet of paper – if we can hold a blank sheet of paper against the city, we win the game.
Jotha press Firmino
A quick look at the numbers shows how impressive Jota’s debut for Liverpool was:
- Only Mohamed Salah (nine) has scored more goals this season than Jotha (seven) in Liverpool.
- Jay is only the second player to score for Liverpool in his first two starts, after Robbie Keene in 2008.
- He is only the tenth player to score a hat-trick for Liverpool in the European Cup/Champions League.
So far Zhotha has mainly been used as a replacement, and against Atalanta the Brazilian international Firmino has been used, scoring only one goal in ten games this season.
A good performance never gives me a headache, Mrs. Klopp said. But sometimes the world is really bad that when someone shines, we immediately talk about another player who played for us, there seem to be 500 games in a row.
Without Firmino, we wouldn’t even be in the Champions League. But I have to explain right away why he’s not on the team.
He will be part of the team and for many people in the world, if you ask them: What makes Liverpool special on some days? I’d say the way Bobby Firmino plays – because on a good day, he can’t protect himself.
Analysis– Perfect night
Former Reds defender Stephen Warnock said Jott is hot now, and with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Manet almost certainly to start a Premier League match in Manchester City on Sunday, it would be very, very hard to miss him.
He did a live report on Radio 5: It changes the style of play. You can see Jotha’s speed. Jotha brings more directness, while Firmino is smarter. The fans were too critical for him to slow down the attacks.
They’ll be better off if Jotha joins the team now. He was great. They called him a stubborn monster.
It shows his confidence. He saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime. He believes he can take Liverpool to the next level and the players around him trust him. Firmino will play on weekends, but he offers an opportunity and a strong option.
Yotta’s hot now. It was very, very difficult to leave him against Manchester City. It seems inevitable that it will be his first three, but with Jürgen Klopp you never know.
Former Red striker Peter Crouch described the night as perfect for Liverpool, while former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand told BT Sport that Red was a team to beat.
Salah has touched point.
Meanwhile, Egyptian striker Liverpool Salah has scored 103 goals in 164 games since joining Rome in 2017.
His second half was also the 21st in the Champions League for the Reds, a draw with former captain Stephen Gerrard, Liverpool’s top scorer in the league.
added Mr. Klopp: I don’t think anyone could have defended themselves against Sadio Manet, Mo Salah and Diogo Jot, so it wasn’t a question of tactics or system, it was a question of team.
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