Diogo Jota hasn’t waited long to make his first impact for the Reds after signing from Wolves, as his strike sealed an Anfield win over Arsenal on Monday.
In just his second substitute appearance since joining, the Portuguese forward controlled a loose ball and fired a shot into the bottom corner, completing the 3-1 win and leaving the Reds with three wins from three in the Premier League.
He could have scored earlier as a couple of chances fell his way, with one shot spurned and the other robbed from him by an overly enthusiastic Mo Salah.
But the movement and pressing was also there to see, as he attempts to get up to speed with replacing Sadio Mane or Salah himself when called upon by the boss.
As for scoring his first goal, Jota told the club website that the team have been brilliant with welcoming him into the squad and he hopes to help them even more in return.
“It means a lot,” he said.
The Goal of Diogo Jota for Liverpool in video ! ??#LIVARS #LFC ?https://t.co/ijCC1mLrFt
— Reds Report (@_RedsReport) September 28, 2020
“When you arrive at a team that are world champions, you always try to adapt as quickly as possible.
“The way they received me is exceptional. I just thank them for the way they have received me. I think we can build up from here and do great things in the future.
“Obviously I could have done better, I had a couple of chances before. But I’m happy with this – getting my first goal in my first game [at Anfield].
“And I helped the team seal the result, that is the most important thing, that we got the three points.”
The £45m man noted that Jurgen Klopp had simply told him to keep up the pressure on the back line and he was ready to do so, as he “watched the game closely” from the bench and is “always focused” for when called upon.
He’s likely to be handed a first start on Thursday against the same opposition, where all Reds fans will be keen to see him get a real run-out – and hopefully have the same impact!
