The Portuguese player had a brilliant first season with Liverpool last time around and is eager to build on his strong start this campaign.
Follow Us
Participating in his first pre-season with Liverpool, Portuguese forward Diogo Jota is keen to build on his impressive start at the club. He arrived at Anfield in the middle of last September and the forward scored 13 times for the Reds in 2020-21 despite a knee injury sidelining him for more than two months. Jota, who represented Portugal at Euro 2020, linked up with his club teammates in Austria last week to prepare for the new campaign. The forward could be in line to feature in Thursday’s friendly with Hertha BSC. “It’s my first pre-season with Liverpool because last year when I arrived the season was already in the second game I think. I’m trying to learn this new way of work but I’m ready and it’s football at the end of the day,” he told Liverpoolfc.com.
“It’s like a relaxed environment. Obviously we are here together, we have a lot of free time, we are always here. But we know when we go to the pitches to work hard and that is the main part of our day. But then we have a lot of free time, we can spend time together and that is good for the team. At the end of the day, we are living here fit and with our confidence very high.”
He also opened up about how quickly he settled at the club, scoring goals regularly. “Obviously when I came I wanted to come and do my best and obviously start scoring, but sometimes those things don’t happen straight away. But I think the style of play suits me and maybe that was the key factor for my beginning,” he added.
“Sometimes, mainly players up front, struggle to get that first goal. When you get it straight away, that first obstacle is gone so you can build on that and I think that helped me a lot. Fortunately for me, during my career it’s been happening sometimes already.”
Diogo Jota scored 13 times for the Reds last season despite being sidelined for more than two months due to a knee injury. Had it not been for the injury, he could have scored more. Speaking about it, Jota said, “It always obviously comes to your mind but I think it’s not positive to start thinking [about] bad things. It happened, it’s gone now.”
“Obviously if you’re going to say to me in the beginning 13 goals, maybe I would agree. But after that beginning maybe you expect some more. It’s football and you never know what’s going to happen next. Now it’s a new season and a new start. I’m ready and the team will be ready for that as well.”
Jota also said playing for the team regularly matters irrespective of the position on the pitch. “I always answer this question [with] I like to be on the field, no matter which position. But, of course, I feel like being able to play in different roles gives you an extra advantage because managers can choose you for one thing or another. It’s good for a player to have that ability – and that’s one thing I’m looking to improve on as well,” he elaborated.
This summer, Portugal’s Euro 2020 campaign ended in the round-of-16 stage against Belgium. Speaking about his experience, Jota added, “Well it wasn’t what we wanted, meaning what Portugal wanted, but football is hard sometimes. But I had a good break and now I’m here and ready to go,” he added.
