Arne Slot, Manger of Liverpool, reacts during a Premier League match. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Liverpool crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United in today’s English League cup final.
Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak kept Newcastle in the driving seat throughout the game. Substitute Federico Chiesa gave Liverpool a glimmer of hope in added time with a well taken goal.
However, Liverpool were completely outplayed, outfought, and out thought during the course of the game and Newcastle were the deserved winners.
There were several disappointing performances for Liverpool on the pitch today, but Portuguese International Diogo Jota continues to disappoint. His performance in the final might just have sealed his fate at the club.
Diogo Jota put on a poor showing
The 28-year-old did not manage to produce a single shot on target during his 57 minutes on the pitch. In addition to that, he had just 16 touches of the ball in that time. Jota put on a horror show against Newcastle and it is high time Liverpool get rid of mediocre players like him and bring in a reliable forward who can influence the game in the final third consistently.
Jota has not only disappointed with his overall attacking performance, he seems to have lost his sharpness in front of goal as well.
It would be ideal for Liverpool to move him on during the summer transfer window and invest in a clinical goal scorer. They have looked toothless in the attack in recent weeks, and Jota has failed to perform despite multiple opportunities.
It will be interesting to see if the 28-year-old can find a new club for himself in the summer.
The Reds will require major surgery in the attacking unit if they want to bounce back strongly. With Mohamed Salah likely to move on as a free agent in the summer, Liverpool’s task of rebuilding the attacking unit could not be any more difficult. It remains to be seen whether they can get rid of the deadwood and bring in top quality replacements.
