Q: Who’s the better Kop finisher... Salah or Jota? A: It’s Diogo ... sorry, Mo IAN RUSH EXCLUSIVE
IAN RUSH has hailed Diogo Jota as Liverpool’s most natural finisher – a street fighter with the assassin’s touch in front of goal.
With a record-breaking 346 goals for the club, Rush is enthused by the striking class of 2024 – Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Jota.
It’s an array of forward riches, but, as they prepare to face Arsenal, the Welshman revealed: “For me, Jota is the best finisher at the club.”
The Portuguese has flourished in Salah’s Africa Cup of Nations absence, typified by the outstanding goal which gave Liverpool the lead in Wednesday night’s 4-1 demolition of Chelsea.
Rush said: “Mo has done brilliantly and is consistently Liverpool’s leading scorer every season.
“But I would still say Jota is the most natural finisher. It’s something that you are born with.
“He reminds me of Kevin Keegan in that, despite their size – neither is big – they are forceful and are also very good in the air. Neither was scared to be tackled. Both give it a go when the odds seem to be against them.
“You can see Jota’s toughness in the goal he scored against Chelsea. He shrugged off two challenges and, once free, you knew he was going to hit the back of the net. He’s also got a bit of devilment in him. He gives as good as he gets with defenders.”
It only appears to be now that Jota, 27, is receiving rave reviews. There was no real great fanfare over his £45million move from Wolves in September 2020.
“He took time to settle and has also suffered injuries,” Rush added.
“Now he is displaying his true striking qualities. Jota always makes the right decision when he is in on goal.
“It’s about having the bigmatch temperament – and you can see that Jota has that in abundance.
“It’s also not being frightened of missing, having that mental toughness to come again. Some strikers, if they miss, start operating further and further away from goal. You are not going to score on the halfway line.”
With the Reds scoring for fun and heading the table, Rush admitted that Klopp’s current side are exceeding his pre-season prediction.
“What Jurgen has achieved this season is amazing,” said Rush. “He has rebuilt the midfield. With the changes in the summer and what lay ahead, I’d have given anything to see them finish fourth. It was all about getting back into the Champions League. “Jurgen is prepared to shuffle the pack and select the three strikers he feels better suited to play whatever opposition. If it’s not working after 60 minutes, he changes it around. How many times have his substitutes come on and scored?
“It means also that it’s virtually impossible for their opponents to contain Liverpool for 90 minutes.”
‘Jota reminds me of Kevin Keegan – forceful and very good in the air’