Owen explains one thing that surprised him about Jota as Liverpool star bags hat-trick
New Liverpool signing Diogo Jota was on fire last night as the Reds put five past Atalanta, with the Portugal international bagging a hat-trick.
It was an incredible performance up and down the pitch, with not one player putting a foot wrong. Getting a clean sheet in Bergamo isn’t an easy feat!
Jota stole the show, in truth – there is no other way to put it – he was untouchable, but there was one aspect of his game that surprised Michael Owen.
The former Liverpool striker was on punditry duty for BT Sport as the Reds took on Atalanta and said he didn’t realise how much pace Jota has.
“What I was impressed with there with Jota is that he’s quicker than I thought. He’s very quick. Tonight you saw him running in behind and awful lot,” he said (via HITC).
To be honest, Owen can’t have watched much of the Portugal star before his move to Anfield, with his pace being one of his outstanding traits.
But fair enough – it was certainly a surprise to see Jota use his speed to get in behind the way he did, as he was typically deployed as a winger at Wolves.
Playing alongside Adama Traore and Raul Jiminez forced the forward onto the left wing, where he is capable of playing – but he’s shown to be more effective centrally.
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