Diogo Jota took 22 seconds to decide Liverpool’s no. 9 debate

Diogo Jota had been deep in conversation with Kostas Tsimikas as the Liverpool duo waited to progress at the City Ground.

The clock was ticking towards the midway point of the second half and Arne Slot’s side were still trailing to Chris Wood’s opener in the first half.

For all their possession, the Premier League leaders had failed to produce a single attempt on goal. They cried out for some inspiration as in-form Nottingham Forest, chasing a seventh straight league win for the first time since 1922, held on.

Jota and Tsimikas had recalled how they had teamed up for Liverpool’s winner at the same venue in the sixth round of the FA Cup in March 2022.

“I just said, ‘Let’s do it now, recreate your assist, take the corner,'” Jota told TNT Sports. “It was one of those occasions where everything went right. I scored with my first touch, which I felt gave the team a bit of momentum. But I’m not happy because I think we could have won.”

Set pieces have not been a strong point for Liverpool so far this season, but Tsimikas’ delivery was perfect and Jota headed home his eighth goal of the campaign in all competitions. Talk about an immediate impact.

It was the fastest ever goal scored by a Liverpool substitute in the Premier League era – the Portugal international celebrated just 22 seconds after coming on. It was also Liverpool’s first league goal directly from a corner since Virgil van Dijk scored away to Arsenal in October.

If signing left-back Tsimikas for the struggling Andy Robertson was a no-brainer, Slot deserve credit for thinking outside the box and being brave (not for the first time this season) as Jota’s introduction in place of Ibrahima Konate led to Ryan Gravenberch drops deeper as a makeshift centre-back.

“We brought in a striker for a defender just to play even more attacking football than we already did because we needed a goal,” explained Slot. “Scoring from set-pieces wasn’t something I had in mind when I brought those two in.”

Liverpool were a different proposition with Jota rather than Luis Diaz leading the way. The Colombian failed to get a shot on target in the 75 minutes he was on the pitch and, as his heatmap below shows, often found himself drifting into deeper positions rather than central, high areas.

Jota, on the other hand, buzzed around with intent and unsettled Forest’s defense with his movement and fighting spirit. But for goalkeeper Matz Sels’ heroics, he would have been the match winner.

Despite only coming on in the 66th minute, Jota had more shots on target (three) than any of his teammates. He provided the spark for the frantic finale.

It has been a difficult period for the former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker, who has not started a top-flight game since picking up a pectoral injury against Chelsea at Anfield in October.

After being sidelined for two months, he scored on his comeback from the bench to rescue a point for 10-man Liverpool against Fulham in mid-December.

There was still some discomfort, however, and Slot has managed him carefully since. Jota has had to be patient, but Tuesday night felt like a big step forward for him. He looked stronger and sharper.

“Diogo had a big impact when he came on against Fulham, but after that game he had a bit of a setback,” Slot said. “So in the games he came in afterwards, I also felt he needed a bit more time to get into his rhythm. It’s not just with him, I see that with other players who were out a few weeks or a few months It’s hard to get this intensity in Premier League games right away.

“It was very pleasing to see tonight that he might have even been better than against Fulham. He had a big impact. He was the one, apart from Mo (Salah), who had a couple of chances to score another goal. “

Darwin Nunez will return to action for Saturday’s trip to Brentford after serving a one-match suspension, but Jota deserves the opportunity to start. Playing Diaz through the middle has worked well at times, but the Colombian, who made way for Curtis Jones, struggled against Forest’s physicality and posed little threat.

Jota is undoubtedly the most complete no. 9 at Slot’s disposal and keeping him fit and firing will largely determine what Liverpool will achieve this season.

They remain in control of the Premier League title, despite dropping points for the fourth time in their last seven league games.

Liverpool’s frustration at failing to find a winner was mixed with relief to return home after avoiding a damaging repeat of the defeat they suffered to Forest at Anfield in September.

Alarm bells were ringing during an erratic first-half display as some sloppy defending allowed Wood to fire Forest in front early on. Decision-making repeatedly failed Liverpool as so many promising openings came to nothing.

They looked rattled in the white-hot atmosphere at the City Ground. “We’re in your head, Arne,” shouted the home supporters, dreaming of a first league double over the Merseysiders since 1962-63.

Castle’s post-match assessment that it was “98 minutes of total dominance” was certainly far too generous. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were happy to let Liverpool have the ball and then counter when the moves broke down and Sels had little to do.

But the second half was a different story as the visitors attacked with greater energy, quality, purpose and composure. The changes energized them. No club has picked up more points from dropping positions than Liverpool (14) in the Premier League so far this season and you have to admire the powers of recovery.

By the end, the stats suggested a mismatch: Liverpool’s expected goals (xG) was 1.99 to 0.31, 23 shots to six, seven on target to three, 52 touches in the opposition box to 17 and 71 percent possession. Forest did not muster a single shot after the 63rd minute. They hung on in the end.

However, Liverpool will be kicking themselves for taking so long to hit their stride. It was Jota who brought them to life.

(Top photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)