Liverpool were in scintillating form on Tuesday night, as they thrashed Atalanta 5-0 in their third Champions League group game.
The Reds took the lead as in-form Diogo Jota dinked the ball over Marco Sportiello to open the scoring, before smashing home a second from Joe Gomez’s pass.
Mohamed Salah raced clear to make it 3-0, Sadio Mane added a fourth from Salah’s pass, and Jota then completed his hat-trick as he rounded Sportiello to tuck home Mane’s pass.
Duvan Zapata almost pulled one back as he rattled the angle of post and bar, but Liverpool managed to hang on for a clean sheet and all three points.
Jota was the understandable star of the show, as his remarkable run of form continued with a devastating showing in Italy.
The 23-year-old has now bagged six goals in his last four games, and is proving to be exactly what Liverpool needed in terms of another goalscorer to ease the burden on Mane, Salah and Roberto Firmino.
Jota may now be really pushing Firmino for his starting role in the Liverpool side, and the £41million paid to Wolverhampton Wanderers now looks like a great deal.
Gary Lineker took to Twitter to react to Jota’s display, branding him a ‘tremendous’ signing, whilst suggesting that he has done what few thought was possible – improved Liverpool’s front three.
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