Former football player Jamie Carragher is not unreasonable in saying that Diogo Jota is one of the best finishers of the “Red Brigade” ever.

After Liverpool defeated Arsenal in the FA Cup and Fulham in the EFL Cup without the services of Mohamed Salah, “The Kop” faced Bournemouth in their first match in the Premier League.

With the score 0-0 in the first half at Vitality Stadium, many people have made arguments about how difficult it is for Liverpool to be without the Egyptian international. The second half quickly erased concerns when Jurgen Klopp’s team won 4-0 to extend the gap with the second-placed team.

The focus of the second half was Diogo Jota – the player who “prepared” for Darwin Nunez in the first 45 minutes of play, before putting his nаme on the scoreboard in the 70th and 79th minutes. Nunez scored a fourth goal. at the end of the match, but it was the Portugal international who attracted most of the post-match attention.

In his first goal against Andoni Iraola’s team, Jota caught a pass from Cody Gakpo down Liverpool’s right wing before firing a shot into the near corner. In the second goal of the match, the former Wolves player blocked Conor Bradley’s low pass into the penalty area. He missed the ball but still controlled the situation and made a decisive move into the far corner. The two goals were both typical Jota shots, instinctive but extremely powerful and sure.

Striker pair Darwin Nunez – Diogo Jota took turns “knocking down” Bournemouth.

The 27-year-old told Sky Sports after the win when asked about his finishing ability: “ It’s difficult to explain, I try to be in the right place at the right time. This feeling comes naturally and that’s why I need to be there to help the team score goals and create assists .”

Former player Jamie Carragher suggested after the match that Jota could be Liverpool’s best natural finisher in the Premier League era. Carragher placed Jota next to outstanding strikers of “The Kop” in the past such as Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Fernando Torres, Luis Suárez, Daniel Sturridge and Mohamed Salah. And the one-time defender of the red half of Merseyside has reason to honor the club’s number 20.

According to analysis from Opta, it took Jota just 141 minutes to score a goal, a figure that ranks behind performances from Suarez (139), Sturridge (136), Salah (132) and Torres (121), despite the low conversion rate. turned the Portuguese player’s shot into a goal higher than 4 of his seniors.

In fact, among players who have scored more than 20 goals for Liverpool, only Divock Origi (20.8%) has a shot conversion rate better than Jota’s 19.3% (38 goals from 197 total shots). ). That puts the former Wolves player ahead of Suarez (12.5%), Sturridge (15.3%), Salah (17.4%), Torres (17.9%) and Sadio Mane (18.6%). .

In his first season with the Anfield team, his Premier League shot conversion rate increased to 19.6% (9 goals in 46 shots), decreasing slightly to 16.7% in the 2021 season. /22 (15 goals after 90 shots). Jota’s last season was interrupted by ιnjury, but he still scored 7 goals on 35 shots (20%). The Portugal international achieved that goal-scoring feat this season (7 goals in 26 shots – 26.9%).

Jota’s 7 goals in the 2023/24 Premier League all came from a total expected goals (xG) of just 3.27. Among the players who have scored at least 7 goals in England’s top league this season, no player has an xG lower than 20 on Liverpool’s side.

In all competitions, Jota even has 11 goals, more impressive with 5.34 xG. Not counting blocked shots, Jota scored with 7 of 11 shots on target.

Jota is even sharper than Salah.

This season, Jota is even more damaging than Salah in terms of conversion rate. His 26.2% shot conversion rate in all competitions is higher than the Egyptian (21.7%), as well as Cody Gakpo (19.6%), Luis Díaz (13.3%) and Nunez (11%).

Overall, Diogo Jota has scored 38 goals in 91 Premier League matches for Liverpool (60 starts) and 52 goals in 135 matches (86 starts) in all competitions. Of Jota’s 38 goals in the Premier League, 12 opened the scoring, 12 sealed the victory, 16 put Liverpool one goal ahead and 6 equalized. Of his 14 goals in cup competitions, 6 opened the scoring and 6 brought victory.

Shooting into the opponent’s net often happens regularly with excellent strikers, but Jota doesn’t just score goals. The Portuguese international knows how to “shoot” right when the team needs him the most. His drаmаtic late goal in the 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield last season is a prime example of calm and decisiveness at a crucial moment.

Is Diogo Jota Liverpool’s best striker of the Premier League era? It still depends on time and each individual’s perspective and feelings. However, as long as he continues to score goals and help Liverpool win more titles, Jota will certainly be remembered as one of the club’s top strikers, placing the former Wolves star in the class of strikers alongside other players. Older brother.