Diogo Jota key to Liverpool as evidenced by marginal Burnley win

• Liverpool defeated Burnley by a small margin of 1-0  in the Premier League.

• Diogo Jota started off the bench in the clash but it was evident his importance in the Reds squad.

• Jota has now scored 12 Premier League goals and 17 goals in all competitions this term, only Salah recording more in the Liverpool squad.

Just after 18 months when Diogo Jota arrived at Anfield from Wolves, most members of the footballing community were left wondering as to why Liverpool had coughed up such a hefty fee for a player who had lost his place in the Wolves side.

Indeed, the Portuguese’s talent was never in doubt. But the conventional wisdom was that, with Liverpool coming off the back of their first title-winning season since 1990, the Reds were now shopping in a market beyond a Wolves side flirting with Europa League football.

The conclusion, then, was that Jota had arrived as an insurance policy. The links between Real Madrid and Mohamed Salah were lingering above Anfield, while Sadio Mane had just struck 22 goals and produced 12 assists to fire Klopp’s side to the Premier League the season before.

And yet, as Liverpool fought and scrap to defend their Premier League title 18 months on, it is Jota who the Anfield faithful now look to for inspiration.

Liverpool’s quest to keep pace with runaway league leaders Man City was kept alive with a 1-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor, but it is a game that will only be remembered if the Reds are holding aloft the Premier League trophy in May.

Indeed, with Salah and Mane having only recently returned from an emotionally-charged Africa Cup of Nations this had all the makings of a banana skin contest for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Diogo Jota started as a substitute and replaced Sadio Mane in the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Burnley. | PHOTO: Getty Images |

Klopp revealed before the match that he had intended to start with Jota over Mane but that, with the Portuguese having sustained a dead leg in training, he was afraid to risk him in the starting 11.

The Liverpool manager was fortunate that lady luck had been on Liverpool’s side in the first half when Fabinho stabbed home a corner before he had to summon the Portuguese from the bench.

It was a Reds performance that lacked conviction in the area of the pitch they have mastered over the years. It was a display completed at odds with the conviction Jota has shown in front of goal in recent months.

A brace in the midweek victory over Leicester at Anfield, Jota has netted 17 goals already this campaign, 12 of which have been concentrated in their battle with Man City for the Premier League.

It is some way short of Salah’s remarkable 23-goal haul so far this term, but the Egyptian plays a very specific, often touchline-hugging role for Liverpool. The freedom which Jota is afforded in a central striking position injects a spark into the Reds which was exacerbated on Sunday afternoon with a fatigued Salah and Mane combination in the forward line.

In just 23 minutes on the pitch, Jota had fashioned more attempts at the Burnley’s goal than Roberto Firmino who was a starter. The Portuguese offer a cutting edge in the penalty area that Premier League defences have increasingly no answer to.

Against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, it was Jota who took the contest by the scruff of the neck in the first half and provided the sole piece of decisiveness for Klopp’s men.

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota celebrates after scoring against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. | PHOTO: Getty Images |

It was also his perfectly-timed run that caught the Gunners on the hop to send Liverpool to Wembley and provide Klopp with another opportunity to add to his Anfield legacy.

Questioned upon his arrival, it is Jota who is now an indispensable figure in the Liverpool side heading into the business end of the season.

Despite having Jota, Klopp has now added to his attacking trio the bit of Luis Diaz. The midfielder coming from Porto already has recorded two assists in three matches and his ability to create staggering chances is something Klopp is smiling about.

The Reds, still in the Champions League, will hope to win their sixth Champions League title this season with the attacking threat they pose. They face Serie A champions Inter Milan in the Round of 16 in the competition and they start the tie with a visit to San Siro on Wednesday, Feb 16 2022, which is the next match after the Burnley win. Jota, upfront will surely be a problem to the Inter defence and can give Klopp the upper hand.