Jota made his return from injury this week and quickly went about making up for lost time. He may have only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes against Burnley on Tuesday, but he still got his goal.
It was the ninth strike of what has been a really productive season for the 27-year-old so far.
And speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards admitted that Jota’s ability to come off the bench and score is ‘getting ridiculous.’
“Liverpool create so much,” said the pundit, when asked how the Reds will cope without Mohamed Salah while he’s away at AFCON next month.
“The likes of Jota. Jota just comes on and scores every time now. It’s getting ridiculous! He’s become the new Solskjaer.”
Jota ready to plug Salah gap
The timing of Jota’s comeback couldn’t have been better for Liverpool. With Salah preparing to leave for a little while, the Reds’ forward line have been looking a little lean in the goals department.
Darwin Nunez finally ended his own drought on Tuesday and will feel all the better for it. But without Salah, there’s a legitimate question mark over where the goals will come from.
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With Jota now back, those doubts should be slightly less pronounced.
The £45m signing was hailed by Steve McManaman as Liverpool’s second-best forward after Salah ahead of Tuesday’s game. As if to underline the pundit’s point, Jota came on and almost immediately killed the game with a goal.
Diogo Jota
Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images
Although he perhaps wasn’t at the start of the season, the Portugal international is surely now in Liverpool’s best XI.
Given his slightly dodgy fitness history, Jurgen Klopp will have to be wary of overplaying Jota. But with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo struggling to regularly find the net, the manager may not have much of a choice.
Throughout his time at Liverpool, Jota has often been overshadowed by bigger names in the forward line.
With Salah out of the picture for a little while though, now is the time for Diogo to truly make his mark. Prepare to be stunned further Micah, because our No.20 is only just getting started.
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