Recent Merseyside derbies have proven something of a marker in Diogo Jota’s Liverpool career.
Last season, the Portuguese made his return from a hamstring issue suffered at the start of pre-season with a late run-out from the bench in the goalless draw at Goodison in September.
And the Anfield return the following February was the afternoon that saw Jota back, again as a substitute, from a calf problem that had sidelined him for four months and dashed hopes of appearing in the World Cup.
The forward will have missed only one match ahead of the latest clash with the neighbours on Saturday lunchtime having been suspended from the 2-2 draw at Brighton before the international break after his red card at Tottenham Hotspur the previous week.
No need for a hard reset this time. And if there is a nagging suspicion Jota is being slightly left behind in the intense competition for places in the Liverpool forward line, the statistics paint a different picture.
Of the 11 games the Reds have played this season, Jota has started five – two down the centre of the attack and one on the left wing. That’s the same number of starts as Darwin Nunez, and only one fewer than Cody Gakpo, who was forced to begin the campaign in midfield. Luis Diaz has eight starts and Mohamed Salah nine.
When it comes to goals, only Salah has more than the four Jota has accrued already this campaign. And in terms of minutes per goal, the Portuguese is scoring at a quicker rate – one every 117 minutes – than his fellow forwards, with Nunez on 118 minutes, Salah 125, Gakpo 137 and Diaz 228.
Jota’s goalscoring form extends before the start of the season. Those previously mentioned injuries and a loss of form towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign contributed to the attacker having not scored for 373 days going into the Premier League trip to struggling Leeds United last April.
A poor opening quarter to the game suggested little had changed. But then it clicked for the Portuguese, who scored twice in a 6-1 triumph. From kick-off at Elland Road, Liverpool have played 20 games and scored 51 goals. The top scorer in that time is, inevitably, Salah with 12. Jota, though, is next in line with 11, ahead of Gakpo (six) and Nunez (five).
