Diogo Jota scored two and assisted one for Liverpool against Bournemouth (Photo: Getty)
Jamie Carragher has heaped praise on Diogo Jota and boldly claimed the forward is the best finisher Liverpool have had over the last few decades.
Jota bagged a brace and an assist as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-0 on Sunday, a result that moves the Reds five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
After a difficult first-half, Jurgen Klopp tweaked his tactics, which included moving Jota from the centre-forward role over the right-wing position usually occupied by Mohamed Salah who is away at AFCON.
Carragher praised that decision and urged the Liverpool manager to stck with it going forward, saying on Sky Sports: ‘Jurgen Klopp has said how clever a player he [Jota] is.
‘He can play on the left, through the middle and the right. Liverpool are still trying to work out who is going to play that role [through the middle] even though they’re winning games, without Salah.
‘They’ve had [Luis] Diaz there, Jota, Harvey Elliot [on the right]. Maybe it’s now Jota’s position.
Carragher went even further however, suggesting that the Portugal international might be one of the best finishers in Liverpool’s history, ranking him above some of their most prolific players.
‘I’ve played with some great Liverpool strikers. Michael Owen, Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres, Robbie Fowler… I think he [Jota] is the best finisher.
‘Robbie maybe in terms of pure finishing, hard and low into the corner. But this is typical Jota. When he gets he chance he is so clinical.
‘This season, he’s got a goal or an assist every 84 minutes. There’s only two or three players in the Premier League who are higher than that.
‘He sums up Liverpool’s great recruitment over the past five or six years. He’s a player who was in and out of the Wolves team and when he was bought a lot of people scratched their heads and said: “I don’t get that”.
‘But Liverpool looked at the underlying numbers, where he took his shots from, how many times he took shots, his XG. You look at him and think that’s a steal.
He’s not a mainstay in the team. If everyone is fit I’m not sure that he plays but finishing wise I think he’s as good if not better than Torres, Suarez and even Salah. He’s absolutely out of this world.’
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Speaking to Match of the Day post-match, Jota said: ‘Bournemouth were a team in form, we had this small break now so maybe that’s why we took a bit of time to get into the game.
‘We were a bit static in the first half but in the second half we changed players from one side to the other, everything flowed better and we deserved the three points in the end.
‘The first goal was a good pass from Cody [Gakpo], just needed to meet the ball and make contact, it was a good finish. Second one I was a bit lucky, first to react, sometimes that’s all you need to react first to get the ball. I’m happy I could help the team.’
MORE : Jamie Carragher says Bournemouth star was a ‘lucky boy’ not to be sent off against Liverpool
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‘He’s absolutely out of this world.’