"A very important player" - Paul Scholes names Liverpool's second-best attacker after Mohamed Salah
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has hailed Diogo Jota as Liverpool's best attacker after Mohamed Salah. The Portuguese forward returned from injury on Boxing Day, making an impactful cameo off the bench. He scored the second goal for the Reds against Burnley to kill the game at Turf Moor.
While speaking on Premier League Productions, Paul Scholes claimed that Jota scores plenty of goals, most of which are rather important. The former Manchester United midfielder insisted that Jota is only behind Mohamed Salah in terms of output for the Reds.
Scholes said, as quoted by HITC:
“He is (important). He chips in with a lot of goals and a lot of very important goals. It’s good coming on for the last 5-10 minutes for a cameo appearance. t’s a good goal (against Burnley). It’s not one he meant, but just hit it hard and low as you can, then hope it goes in."
He added:
“But he is a very important player for Liverpool. Not all of their front three chip in a lot. But he seems to be the one from Salah who does."
Jota joined Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers back in the summer of 2020 in a deal worth reported £41 million. The 27-year-old has scored 50 goals and provided 17 assists in 131 appearances for the Reds till date.
Jota's numbers are better accounted when we realised that several of his appearances have come as substitutes. He has previously had to fight against the likes of Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane for a side in the place. Now he is competing against players like Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez for a spot in the front three.
Jurgen Klopp reveals he played Liverpool star despite medical advice
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he played Diogo Jota against Burnley on the Boxing Day by ignoring the advice from the medical team. Klopp has claimed that Jota was supposed to have more training sessions with the team before being thrown into first-team action.
Speaking after his side's 2-0 win over Burnley, Klopp told reporters (as quoted by This is Anfield):
“We snuck him somehow on the squad list. He trained only twice and the medical department wanted to give him extra training still. I said, ‘He can have that in Burnley.' So he had that tonight and now he can train tomorrow properly, then he will be ready for Newcastle which is really helpful.”
Jota returned Klopp's faith in him by scoring the Reds' second goal to give them breathing space. The Portuguese attacker was sidelined for almost a month after picking up a muscle injury in late November. Jota has contrubuted with nine goals in 18 appearances across competitions this season.