"He's occupying all three of them" - Joe Cole lavishes praise on Liverpool star for his 'movement' in win over Crystal Palace
Former Chelsea winger turned television pundit Joe Cole has showered praise on Diogo Jota in Liverpool's 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on October 5. The Portuguese international found the back of the net for the Merseyside giants helping them secure all three points at Selhurst Park.
Arne Slot's side went four points clear at the top of the table with a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace. Jota scored the only goal of the game in the ninth minute although the Reds ideally should have won with a bigger margin. He did well to get at the end of Cody Gakpo's cross from the left flank and beat Dean Henderson with a first-time finish.
Joe Cole reacted to the Merseyside giants' strong start to the game and highlighted Jota's exceptional movement. The former Chelsea winger told TNT Sports as quoted by Rousing the Kop:
“Liverpool have been sensational. Alexander-Arnold and Salah on the right side and Curtis Jones. When the defenders come out they’re running into those spaces, it’s where the goal came from."
Cole, who spent three seasons at Liverpool between 2010 and 2013, added:
“They’ve been fantastic at breaking it down, the movement, particularly Jota, he’s occupying all three of them.”
Diogo Jota has been Arne Slot's preferred choice in the number nine role ahead of Darwin Nunez since he took over at Anfield in the summer. The Portuguese forward has found the back of the net four times in nine games while creating two opportunities for his teammates.
Jota has been quite prolific for Liverpool since joining the club in the summer of 2020 from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a deal worth a reported £45 million. He has scored 59 goals and provided 21 assists in 153 appearances for the Reds so far.
Real Madrid defender makes a bold claim about Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah
Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has claimed he is not surprised by Mohamed Salah's amazing goalscoring numbers for Liverpool. The Egypt international has been prolific since his reported £34.3 million switch from AS Roma in 2017.
Rudiger, who was Salah's teammate at AS Roma for two years, has insisted that he is far from surprised with the attackers' incredible tally of goals and assists.
The former Chelsea defender said, as quoted by DaveOCKOP on Instagram:
“I’m really not surprised because we played two years together [at Roma]. In his second season you could see that this guy is on a different mission. He was more direct. In the first season, he was trying to do dribbling and stuff like this, beating men one-on-one. But in the second season, he was very direct. He just wanted goals and assists.”
“And obviously I didn’t know that he was thinking about Liverpool already, but one day he told me he was leaving to Liverpool. I remember that first season he had [scoring 44 goals]. I think he shocked the whole world. And so that’s why for me I wasn’t too surprised. And really, the crazy thing is that he got better and better every year,” Rudiger added.
Salah has been extraordinary for Liverpool over the years being the Reds' primary outlet for goals. He has registered 217 goals and 94 assists in 359 games the Merseyside giants to date while helping the club win eight trophies.