Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 Second Leg - Liverpool v Inter Milan - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - March 8, 2022 Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni in action with Liverpool's Diogo Jota REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool star Diogo Jota was the subject of criticism from the media for his sub-par display as Jurgen Klopp’s side lost 1-0 in the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie on Tuesday night.
The Lowdown: Liverpool progress despite defeat…
Liverpool, despite a narrow defeat at Anfield, have marched on through to the next round after beating Inter 2-1 on aggregate.
The Serie A champions found themselves still in the contest courtesy of a wondergoal from Lautaro Martinez, as Klopp’s side failed to bury a few great chances before that point – with both Joel Matip and Mohamed Salah hitting the woodwork.
In some respite for Liverpool, Alexis Sanchez’ dismissal for a nasty follow through on Fabinho immediately after Inter’s goal appeared to more or less kill the tie off.
Salah and late substitute Luiz Diaz had glorious chances to equalise thereafter but Liverpool’s eventual 1-0 loss was enough to see them progress into the quarter-finals.
Media criticise Jota display…
During and after the match, Liverpool star Diogo Jota was criticised by sections of the media for what was a seemingly poor display.
The 25-year-old was hauled off by Klopp in the final ten minutes for Diaz as he failed to have much of an impact on Merseyside.
Here’s what they had to say:
“Jota booked for a foul on Skriniar. It hasn’t been the LFC forward’s night so far. Free-kick to Inter in a great position on right-hand edge of area…”- Ian Doyle, chief Liverpool writer, The Echo (Twitter).
“The front three of Diaz, Mane and Salah is nailed on for me now. Unfortunate for Jota but Diaz is a much bigger threat and Mane has been much better up top than out wide.” – Darren Looney, European Football Writer, Barca Universal (Twitter).
“Plenty didn’t take the warning about Mané & Jota’s below average link-up play.” – Raj Chohan, European Football Writer, BBC Sport (Twitter).
“I thought that was odd. Felt like it was crying out for fresh legs up top from around the hour mark onwards. Jota was way off it tonight. I was expecting Diaz for Jota for the final 30mins.” – James Pearce, Liverpool correspondent (The Athletic).
The Verdict: Poor display…
As per SofaScore, the numbers certainly back what was an off-it night from Jota’s perspective.
Ranking in as Liverpool’s worst starting player against Inter with a 6.2/10 match rating, the former Wolves forward lost 5/6 of his overall duels (83.3%) whilst having fewer touches (41) than goalkeeper Alisson (62).
He also completed just 20% of his dribbles, found no key passes, took zero shots at goal and lost possession on 13 occasions.
Indeed, Reds supporters will be hoping he can re-discover his best form against Brighton in three days time.
In other news: Klopp personally eyeing ‘world class’ player as Liverpool ‘monster’ now looks set to leave, find out more here.
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