KEY GOALS
His ability to sniff out key goals and last-gasp winners became Jota’s trademark.
A stoppage-time winner in a 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in 2023, that came seconds after Spurs had equalised, was typical of his impact off the bench, while the club’s 2022 League Cup success owed more to Jota than any other player.
A double against Arsenal in the semi-final sent them on their way to Wembley, while he had pulled them away from the brink of a shock exit against Leicester City in the previous round.
Introduced off the bench with Liverpool trailing 3-1, he scored as they fought back to level in regular time before netting the winning penalty in the shootout.
Speaking after Jota bagged another two goals in a Premier League win over Nottingham Forest in 2023, Klopp described exactly what Jota offered his team.
“As an offensive player, to be involved in absolutely each defensive situation and still be a threat offensively. There’s no if, or, you can do both. Diogo is doing that. That makes him so valuable for us,” he said.
Jota scored 47 league goals for Liverpool in 123 appearances, a remarkable return considering he only started 79 of those matches.
For both club and country, Jota went about his business in the shadow of brighter stars, with Cristiano Ronaldo captaining his Portugal side and Mohamed Salah often claiming the spotlight for Liverpool.
Yet in a sport that so often celebrates the spectacular rather than the routine, Jota showed that a tireless determination to change games and stick the ball in the back of the net are perhaps the most valuable qualities in football.
