Diogo Jota might’ve been named on Liverpool’s bench for last night’s visit of Real Madrid in the Champions League, but he was a vocal supporter even from the dugout.
In quite a surprise move, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp omitted the Portuguese star from his first XI last night as Real Madrid secured a 0-0 draw at Anfield to move into the semi-final of the competition.
But Jota sprung up from his seat on 25 minutes after a reckless challenge from Casemiro left James Milner in a heap just by the touchline, with the Real midfielder picking up a yellow card.
In one photo of the incident, Jota, who joined the Reds from Wolves last summer, can be seen looking angry from the dugout in protest of the challenge, which also sparked angry reactions from Klopp and his assistant Pep Lijnders, not to mention Andy Robertson who himself picked up a booking for remonstrating with the Brazilian directly after.
Here’s some photos of the incident:
Milner was fine to carry on and was later replaced with Thiago Alcantara – along with Jota – on the hour mark but, even with 30 minutes to go, the duo were unable to provide Liverpool with the inspiration to score the two goals they needed to level up the tie and progress on away goals.
The good news about last night’s defeat is that now the Merseyside outfit can focus all of their attention on finishing in the top four and as things stand, Klopp’s side are sixth in the Premier League and two points behind fourth-placed West Ham United with seven to play.
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