Jurgen Klopp on 23-year-old Liverpool goalscorer Diogo Jota: "That he is that close [to our style] already is just a sign of how good a player he is, and if he stays fit, he is 23, the future is bright. We will need his quality, I'm happy with how he's settled in."
Saturday 24 October 2020 23:43, UK
Jurgen Klopp says Tthe "future is bright" for Liverpool new boy Diogo Jota after the 23-year-old's quick adaption to life at Anfield.
Jota scored his second Premier League goal - and a vital winner - from four games in their 2-1 win over Sheffield United on Saturday night, to cap an impressive performance from the Portuguese forward, who moved to Anfield from Premier League rivals Wolves last month.
Klopp told his post-match press conference the 23-year-old "has the quality Liverpool need" for a side who have so heavily relied on a first-choice front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah ever since the latter's arrival at the club in 2017.
"He's still adapting to us, a lot of things are not natural to him that we do," Klopp said. "But that's because Wolves play differently. A lot of things he did for Wolves are what we want him to do. That he is that close already is just a sign of how good a player he is, and if he stays fit, he is 23, the future is bright. We will need his quality, I'm happy with how he's settled in.
"He's a good player, that's what I like about him, I said it to my coaches and said it's so easy because he's such a likeable person which makes everything easy. The player is quick, his physicality is strong, he's good in the air, on the ground, but he has the quality we need, and that helps a lot."
Liverpool had struggled to create clear-cut chances in a first half where a stunning cross from Jordan Henderson played a major part in their 41st-minute equaliser, but after the break Salah saw a goal ruled out for offside and another effort denied by the woodwork either side of Jota's headed winner.
"In the first half we lost patience," Klopp told Sky Sports. "We had four players wanting the ball in behind the last line, we had not too many midfielders and were looking to chip it forward with no one there for the second ball. The balls are brilliant but you need a formation to pick up what doesn't lead to a proper chance.
"I love half-time, we can talk to each other and show the boys a picture, the goal we scored was exactly like we should've done. The second half we started really well - Sheffield United pushed as well, for 20 or 25 minutes we could have scored more, but then they came back.
"Then it's tough, they came back, a lot of long balls, we had to dig deep but the boys did. It's nice to win a football game 2-0, 3-0, and they don't have chances, but that only happens in games like this where you are ready to fight. In nights like this you earn the right to win the others. That's why I love this game so much."
Sheffield United have endured a tough start to their second Premier League campaign under Chris Wilder, picking up only one point from their opening six games, although they produced a performance worthy of testing the Premier League champions at Anfield on Saturday night, enjoying 13 shots to the hosts' 17 across the game.
That left Wilder encouraged about the Blades' prospects and their ability to draw positives from the game - ahead of another tricky fixture against Manchester City, last season's runners-up, at Bramall Lane next weekend.
"It was more like us, it was more aggressive and more competitive," he told Sky Sports. "It was more of a Sheffield United performance that everybody has seen over the last two or three years and we needed to get back to that with the attitude in our approach.
"If you allow good players to get their heads up, they'll pick you off and I thought we made contact with them and then that gave us the opportunity to play as well. I didn't think it was all one-way traffic, I thought we created as well and I wouldn't have been surprised if we got something late in the game with the amount of pressure we had, always - understandably - open to the counter-attack, especially when the game gets stretched as it does.
"But I thought you saw their attitude at the end, it was obviously a big win for them and our attitude, the desperation in the body language of the players, they felt they should have got something from the game so on quickly to Man City at home and away at Chelsea but that's what the league is all about. If you don't want to be in it, don't take part in it.
"We deserve to be in it and now we've got to show we deserve to be part of it and I believe we will do if we produce more of that type of performance."
