Liverpool moment at Newcastle highlights Diogo Jota…

Liverpool moment at Newcastle highlights Diogo Jota issue nobody is talking about

With the many problems Liverpool have faced in 2022/23, some less obvious issues have passed somewhat under the radar. It’s hard to believe, but it’s over 10 months since Diogo Jota last scored for the Reds.

The Portuguese forward netted 34 times in his first 72 appearances for the club, finding the net every 136 minutes along the way. Since scoring in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad last April, Jota has played 1124 minutes without adding his name to the scoresheet.

It hasn’t been an entirely barren period for the 26-year-old. In his 23 goal-less appearances, the former Wolves forward has provided nine assists, with five in Europe (including a hat-trick of them at Ibrox) and a winner at Newcastle among other goals he has created in the league. He has also scored and set up a further four goals for Portugal in the UEFA Nations League. His wait for a Liverpool goal goes on though.

Jota deserves some leniency before anyone starts predicting his demise. He has only started 11 times without scoring and just seven of the appearances lasted at least 70 minutes. Liverpool’s number 20 has been in and out of the side through a combination of fierce competition for places as well as injury problems. Going into the first leg with Real Madrid, he and Arthur Melo have missed the joint-most games among Jurgen Klopp’s squad this term thanks to fitness issues (24).

The good news is that he made an excellent cameo appearance at St James’ Park on Saturday. As Newcastle had already been playing with 10 men for 37 minutes when he replaced Cody Gakpo, it’s important not to go overboard even if the signs were very encouraging.

There was plenty to admire though. Jota had four shots in a match for only the third time since his Manchester City goal, and for the first time when not playing the full 90 minutes. Although he was unable to steer any of the efforts on target, it was impressive that the quartet of shots were taken from no more than 11 yards from goal. The Portuguese international has had three previous Liverpool games in league and Europe in which he had at least four attempts in that range, but this was the first occasion away from Anfield.

This in turn naturally meant that the chance quality was high. It was the 32^nd instance of a Red amassing at least 0.7 expected goals this season, but only the third where the man in question played under half of the match. Jota has always been among Liverpool’s top players for non-penalty xG per shot, and his rate has increased with each passing season. This only bodes well.

The other encouraging aspect of the Newcastle match was that his four chances were each created by a different player. Relationships with teammates have been very important to Jota’s productivity, with 88 per cent of his goals for the Reds having received an official assist. This is above the rates of Sadio Mane (83), Roberto Firmino (79) and Mohamed Salah (63), with none of the other five players with at least 19 goals under Klopp as reliant on service as the Portuguese striker either.

At Newcastle, he first received a pass into the box from Firmino, making a yard of space to be able to shoot. Andy Robertson then delivered a cross following a corner for the best of the chances, and one from which Jota should really have scored.

A trademark cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold nearly allowed the substitute to score or assist, as Firmino almost got on the end of his header, before a pass from Harvey Elliott provided Jota with his second Opta-defined clear-cut chance.

With greater sharpness, one or two of these opportunities may have found the net. Nonetheless, Jota looks in great shape to turn his goal tap back on sooner rather than later. A deluge may easily follow.

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