Diogo Jota is confident of flourishing as a central striker under new Liverpool head coach Arne Slot after his impressive opening day display against Ipswich Town.
Jota netted the opening goal of Liverpool's first 2024-25 Premier League encounter on Saturday, finding the far corner in the 60th minute after he was picked out by Mohamed Salah.
Salah subsequently marked his 350th Liverpool appearance with his 300th goal involvement (212 goals and 88 assists) five minutes later to secure the win at Portman Road.
Jota has now been involved in 10 goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, scoring seven and assisting three.
The Portugal international contributed an expected goals (xG) of 0.95 to the Reds' 2.65 total against Kieran McKenna's side, the highest of any player from either team
He also recorded 11 touches in the opposition box, the joint-most in the Liverpool squad alongside Luis Diaz and Salah, while also winning six of his 13 contested duels.
Slot spoke of his belief that Jota's best position is in the centre of the attack, with the 27-year-old agreeing with his new boss.
"It's obviously a bit different from [Jurgen] Klopp where I maybe was useful out wide," Jota told Liverpool's official website.
"I think here he [Slot] wants our wingers a lot more in one-v-ones and I think we have better options than myself.
"If I stay in the middle and wait for those chances to come in and score them, I think that is what I do the best so you can take that into the season."
Liverpool struggled in the first 45 minutes against Ipswich, managing just three shots on Christian Walton's goal, none of which were on target.
But a much-improved display after the interval saw the Reds muster 15 shots, five of which were on target with 12 coming from inside the penalty area.
And with Brentford up next in the Reds' first home game of the new season, Jota said their second-half showing has given the team a solid foundation to build on.
"Yeah, a positive performance. Obviously, the first half was a bit harder, they were really on it [and] pressing almost man-v-man," Jota said.
“The fans were there and we knew it was going to be a difficult first half because they would give it all – [it is] a long time since they have been in the Premier League.
“And then the second half they started giving us a little bit more space, which was enough for us to start building and start creating those spaces in behind.
"We created a lot of chances and we ended up scoring two, so in the end I think it's a deserved three points."
Cavalier SC, Mount Pleasant Academy set for opener of 2024 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup at Sabina Park
Cavalier SC and Mount Pleasant Academy both expressed optimism ahead of their clash to open the 2024 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica on Tuesday.
The two teams most recently met in a thrilling final of the Jamaica Premier League in May which Cavalier won 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out.
Head Coach of Cavalier, Rudolph Speid, doesn't expect that result to give his side a mental edge going into Tuesday's clash.
"The phenomenon of this clash is that every time we meet, Mount Pleasant has a new team and we have a lot of changes. It's a new game all over and we just expect to win this particular game," he said in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
The teams will compete in Group A of the ten-team tournament alongside fellow JPL outfit Arnett Gardens FC, Real Hope FC out of Haiti and Police FC out of Trinidad & Tobago.
Cavalier were runners-up in last year’s inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup, losing the two-legged final by a combined score of 3-0 to Surinamese outfit Robinhood FC.
Something synonymous with Cavalier over the years is their willingness to use young players and Head Coach Rudolph Speid says this will continue to be the team’s policy going forward.
“We don’t have much new faces. Some of the younger players from our youth teams are the ones that have stepped up. That has been our policy and our motto. Every single year, Cavalier will field young players who came through our ranks.”
Despite this inexperience, Speid expects good things from his players when the time comes.
“They know what to expect. Some of them have pretty big shoes to fill and I’m confident that they will do well,” he said.
Trinidadian attacker Kaile Auvray, who joined Cavalier from Mount Pleasant recently, is hopeful that his insight on his former team will give them an added advantage tomorrow.
“Obviously being a former Mount Pleasant player, I know my former teammates very well so I’ll be sure to communicate things that can help us be successful,” he said.
On the other hand, this will be Mount Pleasant Academy’s first time competing in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup, an achievement that is not lost on Head Coach Harold Thomas.
“It’s been a long-awaited arrival for Mount Pleasant at this level. Our preparation has been relatively smooth. Short period of time but we were able to implement all the things we wanted to. We’re happy with where we are,” he said.
“We are all excited as a club,” said Mount Pleasant skipper Sue-Lae McCalla about playing in their first CONCACAF Caribbean Cup.
“It’s a good feeling. For a new club, the first time so it’s a lot of excitement for us,” he added.
Normally, playing in a tournament of this magnitude for the first time would have a team feeling some pressure.
For Coach Thomas, however, this is not the case.
“Absolutely not,” was his response to questions about whether or not his team is feeling the pressure ahead of tomorrow’s game.
“This is what we live for. For us, it’s just a matter of getting all things right,” he said.
Gasperini joins exclusive club by passing 550 points with Atalanta
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini joined an exclusive club on Monday as La Dea's 4-0 win at Lecce saw him pass the landmark of 550 Serie A points with a single club.
Marco Brescianini and Mateo Retegui both scored twice as the Europa League holders got their Serie A campaign off to a flying start at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare.
The victory saw Gasperini – who joined Atalanta in 2016 – reach 552 points in charge of the Bergamo club, who he led to a fourth-place finish in Serie A last term.
Only four coaches had previously collected 550 or more points with a single club in Serie A: Helenio Herrera with Inter, Carlo Ancelotti with Milan (both 557), Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus (663) and Giovanni Trapattoni, who collected 770 also with the Bianconeri.
Lionel Messi absent for Argentina World Cup qualifiers after Copa America injury
Lionel Messi has been omitted from Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifiers as he continues to recover from an ankle injury sustained in the Copa America final.
The superstar forward limped off a little over an hour into La Albiceleste's 1-0 victory over Colombia in Miami on July 14 and has not featured since.
Messi, 37, did not play in the MLS All-Star game, with his club side Inter Miami confirming he had sustained ligament damage to his right ankle and no timeline has been put on his return.
Lionel Scaloni has the likes of Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez and Nicolas Gonzales to call upon, while Lazio forward Valentin Castellanos earns a first call-up.
Argentina face Chile in Buenos Aires on September 5 before travelling to Bogota for a rematch with Colombia five days later.
Scaloni's side, who are hoping to defend their World Cup title in 2026 by qualifying for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, are top of CONMEBOL qualifying with five wins from six matches.
The top six nations from CONMEBOL qualify for the tournament, while seventh place goes into a play-off for an additional berth.
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