HATS OFF TO JOTAS REDS RUN RIOT
Deadly Diogo fires a treble to prove he can be Klopp’s main man
Some players just look born to wear the shirt. That is how it is for Diogo Jota and Liverpool. Not just his three goals last night, as superbly taken as they were, but his composure taking them. Not a hint of nerves, nothing less than complete self-assurance.
Jota just looks a Liverpool player, the way some of the greats from the past did. magic happens around him. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, no player has scored more than a single hattrick in european competition. except Jota: he has three.
The first two were with Wolves in the europa League, obviously, so this was a first in the Champions League. each goal was beautifully taken, but by the time he chased on goal for the third he would have been forgiven for experiencing butterflies.
Not one, by the look of it. Sadio mane played him in and Jota drew Atalanta goalkeeper marco Sportiello who, having already conceded four, could be forgiven his skittishness.
Jota had a go, got a tad fortunate when the ball bounced off his chest, but kept steady as he took it wide, before finishing into an empty net.
And yes, Atalanta played a cavalier open style that was remorselessly exploited. There will be far harder games in the Premier League or against any team that is prepared to keep it tight. Yet that should take nothing away from Jota, or his team-mates.
They were outstanding, against a team unfortunate not to reach this tournament’s final four last season. A word, too, for the team behind the scenes, who have played as big a part as any. The finest recruitment policy in european football appears to have struck again. It looked hard to improve on the Liverpool of 2019-20, but they found a way. Jota has been a revelation for the club, in a front three that seemed pretty much perfect. He has improved its only flaw: Roberto Firmino’s comparatively low goal return.
Firmino’s work-rate and his team contribution on have always been his strength. In his ear earliest days at the club, when it was calculated he worked even harder at closing defenders down than Luis Suarez — who was considered the leader in the e field — there was s always a balance to be struck. Firmino mino was never prolific, but his wider contribution outweighed that.
Yet with just 12 goals in all competitions last season, and just one in 10 games in this, there was the potential for an upgrade. If a hard-working central striker could be brought in, one that found goal regularly, Liverpool could become even more of a threat. Step forward Jota.
Jurgen Klopp may still play Firmino in games when defence is key — perhaps against manchester City on Sunday — but Jota’s form is making him close to irresistible. This was his fourth scoring game in succession — the first such run by a Liverpool player since mane in January-February 2019 — and the first time a Liverpool player has scored in his first two Champions League starts since Robbie Keane in 2008. Yet it wasn’t just the numbers but the way they were racked up that impressed. Jota’s first-half goals were stunning, perfect examples of the goalscorer’s art, full of coolness, confidence and skill.
The best recruitment in europe? Bayern munich may argue the point, but they as good as have the German market to themselves. munich can take the best players from their biggest domestic rivals — a strategy that is simply not open to Liverpool. So, yes. There are no better identifiers of talent than the recruitment department at Liverpool.
Jota turned what could have been an awkward tie into a comparative stroll. Pep Guardiola described playing Atalanta as a visit to the dentist last season. Liverpool turned it into that bit at the end where he gives you a treat for being a good boy. There was no pain, no drill and no fillings. They were two goals clear by half-time, and doubled that margin within four minutes of the restart. But it was Jota that sent them on their way.
The game was only two minutes old when Jota signalled his intentions. Curtis Jones — outstanding in midfield, to the extent Liverpool haven’t missed Thiago Alcantara — played him in and Sportiello was forced into a save at his feet. He made saves from
Sadio Mane and Jones, too, before the 16th minute. Just as well, because he didn’t stop much after that.
Jota’s first came from a familiar route — a lovely ball struck by Jones from midfield. What an outstanding prospect he is. One can almost understand his frustration last season, at not being able to command a regular place at the best team in the country.
The pass was spot-on, but so was the finish, Jota first holding off Jose Luis Palomino, before drawing Sportiello and lifting the ball over his diving figure, Lionel Messi-style. It was the finish of a man who thinks he will score every game — and who has the evidence to prove it, right now.
Such was Liverpool’s superiority that Jota’s second, after just 33 minutes, felt like game over. But what a goal it was. A crossfield ball by Joe Gomez, just inside Atalanta’s half, was taken in the air by Jota with his left, switched effortlessly to his right which took Hans Hateboer out of the game, the shot directed through his outstretched leg, visible to Sportiello only when it was much too late.
Atalanta looked stunned. They were second to every ball, underlined when Mane beat Rafael Toloi in a midfield tussle, then charged on goal, forcing another save from Sportiello.
And any hope Atalanta had of changing the narrative after half-time was quickly snuffed out. With two goals in as many minutes, Liverpool extinguished all thoughts of a comeback.
The third came from an Atalanta corner, cleared upfield by Jones. It fell to Mohamed Salah, who suddenly had an empty expanse ahead of him. He sprinted away, outrunning Hateboer and curling the ball in with his left foot, Sportiello powerless.
By now Atalanta heads were spinning. They won a throw but gave the ball directly to Salah, who swiftly fed Mane, the only Liverpool forward without his name on the scoresheet. That soon changed. Sportiello, frazzled, came chasing out of goal, making up Mane’s mind as he lifted the ball over him.