Jota might have spent the last five matches nursing a hamstring injury but the Celtic fans’ favourite didn’t hang about when it came to making up for lost time.
An 80th minute sub appearance - which was greeted like another goal by the travelling support - might have been a gentle cameo to get the Portuguese winger up to speed again. If so, someone forgot to pass him the message. In those 10 minutes, Jota jinked and darted, won his team a penalty that was missed by Giorgos Giakoumakis and still had time to round off the scoring himself, steering a David Turnbull cross home to finally put Livingston out of their misery on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline, that could have been worse.
Jota ’s smile said it all at full time and he was still wearing the grin later as he digested his comeback and looked ahead to games to follow, including the facing of Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on Wednesday. He doesn’t know if Ange Postecoglou will thrust him straight back into the starting line-up, but the former Benfica youth player is ready if called upon, And although he gave it the usual ‘it’s the manager’s call’ patter, there’s no doubt he’d love the chance to test himself in the toughest environment in the knowledge that a good performance will do his World Cup chances no harm at all.
Jota is thrilled to be in the original 55 names that will be whittled down but he’d love to make the cut. He said: “It’s a very good moment for me and for my family. I’m just grateful for everything that is going on. Two years ago I was not even playing for any club. I was at a club of course, but I wasn’t having many minutes.
“Two years later, to be on this 55-man list is something very good for me, but this is just another step. I just need to keep working and enjoying it on the pitch, and everything will come naturally. You cannot just be obsessed with those kinds of things. I wake up every day with the mentality of being a better person and a better football player, and building a strong base to be better. I’m happy to be playing again, It was a very important moment for me coming back from injury, but most of all it was about the victory for the team. I think in football we have to be ready for these kinds of situations. Although we can be very professional, some injuries always come up because we cannot control everything, it’s just like it works with life, you cannot control everything.
“So, when there are these setbacks we just need to fight back to get better every day and aim for the future, and that’s what I’ve wanted to do these past three weeks. This was a game that we knew was going to be very difficult like every season, every time we come here, but I was very happy to get the win.”
Asked if he is ready for Real Madrid, he added: “That’s not a question for me, that’s a question for the gaffer. If he is ready to put me in, I am ready to fight for him, for the team and for the club. So that is up to him. In my opinion, every game is a good stage. You are always under evaluation from your coach, other teams, your previous teams, Celtic, everyone.
“You just need to be ready for everything and to keep on the level, and to be very consistent. That’s very important in football.” Whether he plays or not, he is adamant that his team has what it takes to go toe to toe with the current Champions League holders. That the quality has been there in every game, and people who understand football can see that ok, the guys are playing well, there are just some details we are not getting,” he said.
“In the Champions League, you pay a very high price if you are not on it in every game. I think there is always a determination in these games, but our aim for the rest of the season is to play every Premiership game as if it is a Champions League game. We need to remind ourselves that we want to be better every day, and in order to do that we just need to think as though it could be our last game, so we have to fight for that.
“That’s our mentality.” His manager is delighted to have Jota back, having been forced out of the team when he was playing some of his best football. Yes, I was disappointed for him,” Ange Postecoglou said. “It is easy to forget he had a great start to the season, he was incredible for us.
“For him to miss the last period, along with Callum (McGregor), it is disappointing for him more than anything else because he wanted to make an impact at Champions League level. He scored against Leipzig, he was looking good and he has worked hard in rehab. We still have four games to go before the break and again in the second half of the year I am sure he will be back to his best and looking to improve because again he is a young player as well.”
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