For the first time in his Liverpool career, Mohamed Salah was not the most productive player for Jürgen Klopp’s side (on a per 90 basis) as someone else overtook.
ALL TIME GREAT” | JURGEN KLOPP ON MOHAMED SALAH
Things haven’t gone smoothly for Liverpool over the course of the 2022/23 campaign. Jürgen Klopp’s side was unfortunate with injuries and things just not quite clicking together. There was a lot of dysfunction in the way Liverpool tried to adjust to and cover the holes that were left behind after the summer transfer window.
No one sums up the club’s ebbs and flows this season better than Diogo Jota. The Portuguese forward endured a difficult period on the sidelines and missed out on the World Cup as a result. To top that off, he also went over a calendar year without scoring a goal for Liverpool in competitive appearances thanks to injuries and a loss of form.
But towards the end of the season, no one sums up Liverpool’s revival better than Jota either, who went full 360 degrees in his form and completely overturned his fortunes scoring seven goals in his last nine appearances after finally getting off the mark against Leeds United.
Jota averaged 0.97 goal contributions per 90 minutes this season. That’s a better return than Mohamed Salah who averaged 0.96. Jota has only just edged him but it’s the first time Salah has been beaten to that distinction by a Liverpool player who has played at least 700 minutes since the Egyptian arrived at Anfield so it’s no small feat.
The Portuguese’s hot streak has gone under the radar. Even when he wasn’t scoring he was registering a lot of assists for Liverpool and making key contributions. Not the most eye-catching player, Salah is definitely more aesthetically pleasing when he is on the ball, Jota’s industrious work rate and running make him just as much of a nuisance, and clearly just as dangerous for Liverpool as well.
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This season, injuries have been the only thing holding him back and inhibiting him from really making a mark, but if Jota can stay fit for an entire season then Klopp has another extremely potent attacker on his hands — a player who has shown this season (and even beyond) that he can keep up with Salah’s output and become a similar offensive threat for the Reds.
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