As Diogo Jota finished off a fine Liverpool move to equalise against Man City, he once again highlighted his importance to the Reds. His 13th minute strike to peg City back to 1-1 came after a less than ideal start for Liverpool.
The Portuguese attacker’s surprise selection after the recent form of Luis Diaz paid off for Jurgen Klopp and it was another example of his big-game nature.
The goal was Jota’s fifth in eight matches against big six sides this season and his ninth against the same opposition since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
In that time no other big six player has scored more non-penalty goals in fixtures amongst the teams - Jota is level with Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-Min.
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The Portuguese star has a knack of scoring important goals. Across 28 games when he has scored Liverpool have never lost with 23 wins and five draws.
Of Jota’s 21 goals this campaign, ten have opened the scoring and five have been equalisers. Five of the other six were the second goals and only the fourth in their 4-1 thrashing of Everton could be seen as insignificant.
He now has 15 Premier League goals this campaign and is third in the scoring charts. The goals have come at a sensational rate of one every 128 minutes.
Only Salah (20 goals every 121 minutes) and City’s Riyadh Mahrez (10 goals every 122 minutes) have a better strike rate, yet Jota doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. For context, Harry Kane has 12 goals every 217 minutes and Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 12 every 167 minutes.
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Jota’s record outshines his teammates bar Salah. Sadio Mane has scored 13 league goals every 180 minutes, Roberto Firmino has five every 176 minutes and Diaz two every 261 minutes. He has 21 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions after 13 in 30 last season.
The diminutive movement and versatility of Jota along with his canny goalscoring knack means his value is undoubted. His regular ability to crop up and produce magic has seen him shine since a £41million move from Wolves in 2020.
Liverpool are reaping the rewards of seeing something other elite teams missed after three impressive but unspectacular campaigns at Molineux that saw him net 44 goals.
With five top quality attackers along with Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino in reserve Liverpool’s attacking depth is superb and arguably better than the title-winning 2019-20 side.
As they continue their mission for a remarkable quadruple, despite often going under the radar, Jota’s timing, touch, finishing and ability to score big goals will have a crucial role to play in the run-in.
