Liverpool have Diogo Jota conundrum as Forest win keeps CL hopes alive

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will not be short of questions despite his side picking up all three points in their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The German’s outfit struggled to break down their opponents in the first half despite dominating possession, but in the second period Diogo Jota got a brace either side of Neco Williams scoring on his Anfield return. Morgan Gibbs-White’s finish then equalised once again to quiet the home crowd, before Mohamed Salah sealed all three points with the winning goal from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross. Here, Express Sport runs through the talking points from the game – including a new star for Klopp.

Klopp proves Souness wrong

Ahead of the game, Reds icon Graeme Souness explained how he disagreed with Klopp’s decision to use Alexander-Arnold in an inverted role. The England man once again operated in midfield, as he and Klopp could make Souness eat his words going forward with his performances.

“I have seen the arguments about Trent Alexander-Arnold being deployed as a right-sided midfielder at Liverpool because of his perceived shortcomings in defence. I don’t agree with them. I think Trent is better coming on to the ball from the full-back position, rather than being in the congested midfield areas,” he wrote in the Daily Mail.

Alexander-Arnold was exceptional on the ball as time and time again he carved the visitors open with his vision and passing range. If recent performances are any indication, a midfield role could be a viable long-term strategy for Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool.

New star in Jota but questions remain

Jota appears to have found form in front of goal once again, as his performances had become a concern coming into the last two games. The brace against Leeds were the Portuguese forward’s first goals of the season, which he added to against Forest. Alexander-Arnold’s corner was bundled to Fabinho, his header on goal was then met by Jota who was on his toes and ready to attack the six-yard area in typical Jota fashion.

Then Jota saw himself left with the freedom of the penalty area from a free-kick, he was not picked up by the Forest defence as he was able to collect Andrew Robertson’s cross, take a comfortable touch and then rifle an effort past Keylor Navas.

Klopp will be relieved that Jota has seemingly returned to his best self in front of goal, repaying the faith in the German boss as Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz had been left on the bench once again in favour of the Portugal international.

However, his performances have not been to the standard he set prior to his injury – despite the goals flowing. Klopp will be facing a dilemma over whether Diaz or Nunez would improve the team overall compared to Jota, despite the man with two braces in two games currently in red-hot goalscoring form.

Van Dijk worries

Virgil van Dijk has not lived up to his extremely high standards this season and there were testing moments once again by Forest on the counter. In the first half, the Netherlands star’s stray pass was picked off and led to a good chance for Gibbs-White.

Though the attack led to a comfortable save for Alisson, it was a warning and former Arsenal winger Perry Groves was unimpressed with the defender and compared him to a Hollywood star attempting to get on the ball. Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “Virgil van Dijk, he was more like Dick Van Dyke there! All he had to do was play a straight pass to Trent Alexander-Arnold and instead he’s pinged it straight to Morgan Gibbs-White!”

Van Dijk and the Liverpool defence struggled to keep the worst away team in the Premier League at bay and could have conceded more than twice, as Brennan Johnson especially came close with 10 minutes remaining as he got the wrong side of the Dutch centre-back but his flicked effort hit the bar amid several long throws that caused the home defence several problems.

Henderson fear

With Alexander-Arnold stepping into midfield, Jordan Henderson’s influence in the same area has been reduced and often resulted in worrisome moments for the hosts. The captain on several occasions was forced to turn around and got caught in possession, often forced slightly wider to accommodate Alexander-Arnold.

Harvey Elliott in fact excelled in the same role prior to his long-term injury as he was more adept closer to the sideline than his skipper, something Klopp may consider for future weeks if he sticks to the current tactical setup.