The signs were there from the very first game of the season. Now Diogo Jota has evidently regained one of Liverpool’s most enviable reputations.
Jota’s predatory strike less than 10 minutes into the match at Crystal Palace last Saturday was sufficient to ensure a victory that keeps the Reds top of the embryonic Premier League table and maintain Arne Slot’s record-breaking start as Anfield boss.
And it was a further example of why the Portugal international has long been regarded the “gamebreaker” for Liverpool during his time at the club.
It was Jota who got the Slot era underway, notching the first competitive goal under the Dutchman to send Liverpool on their way to a 2-0 win at promoted Ipswich Town on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
And while the Reds had fallen behind against West Ham United in the League Cup, the 27-year-old scored both the equaliser and the second goal to switch the momentum of a game Liverpool went on to win 5-1.
Jota’s contribution to breaking the deadlock this season hasn’t just been restricted to scoring. In the home win against Brentford, it was his pass that sent Luis Diaz scurrying away to score the first goal.
And on his return to former club Wolves, the striker stood up a cross from the left from which Ibrahima Konate put Liverpool ahead with a towering, powerful header.
