Diogo Jota: That was a really special night for me
Diogo Jota reflected on a ‘really special’ return to Molineux and wished former teammate Rui Patricio well following Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Portugal forward netted the only goal of Monday’s game with a clinical finish in first-half stoppage time following sharp interplay also involving Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
However, his immediate thoughts post-match were with Patricio, after the Wolves goalkeeper required lengthy treatment in the latter stages of the contest due to a head injury.
Jota told Sky Sports: “I think life is more important. I hope it’s nothing too serious and I wish him, obviously, a speedy recovery.”
Read on for the rest of the No.20’s interview...
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On the slick move that led to his winning goal…
Yeah, I think against these kind of teams, they defend well [so] we need to take advantage when they are unbalanced and they were at the moment. The quick triangulation from I think Sadio to Mo and back again and then me on the left, it was a good movement, a good goal and helped the team to reach a victory that we were looking for for a long time in the Premier League.
I think we need to improve a lot, in this competition especially, and hopefully this could be a great start of a run until the end of the season.
On Wolves’ pressure and whether a second goal would have helped Liverpool…
It’s a hard game, we knew that, and obviously they make it very hard for us during the entire game. I think we had a couple of chances in the first half. In the second half not so much, apart from the disallowed goal and Mo at the end. But of course we knew that it would be tough and we are very happy with the victory.
On whether the Reds have found their form following back-to-back wins…
We hope so. Of course we work for that and now with two clean sheets [and] two victories it’s really good and now we have the break for the international teams but it’s football.
On the importance of closing the gap to the top four…
Massive. Like I said, we needed to win. That was the most important thing and to grab points because we have been struggling in the Premier League and we want to change that.
On how special an evening it was for him personally…
Very special. I had been here for over three years, working every day with almost everyone in that dressing room. Obviously it was special, I just wish the fans would have been here as well - but anyway, a good result for us and for me.