The bright smile on Diogo Jota’s face after only 45 minutes with Alexis Mac Allister was telling.
Soon after Liverpool’s new £35 million midfielder threaded an eye-of-the-needle ball for Jota to score his second goal in a 4-2 victory over Karlsruher SC, the No.20 was questioned about the Argentine World Cup winner’s abilities.
“I really like these kinds of players,” Jota exclaimed. “All they see are these passes. I only need to make the run, and he will follow. I believe I will get along well with him.”
The Portuguese forward was part of Liverpool’s second-half XI that took on the Wildparkstadion grass on Wednesday evening, alongside teenagers Ben Doak and Caleb Scanlon. Cody Gakpo and Mac Allister sat slightly deeper in the engine room, with James McConnell as the anchor.
For Jota, Wednesday night couldn’t have been more dissimilar to the events of a year ago, when he was denied a pre-season schedule after relapsing with a hamstring injury sustained during a Portugal appearance during that summer’s Nations League fixtures – on day one of the Reds’ pre-season tour of Asia.
Jota had scored 21 goals in the previous season as Liverpool chased Champions League and Premier League gold, but the injury would keep him out until early September, when he came on as a late second-half substitute in a 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.
This time, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Atletico Madrid, and FC Porto forward will be hoping to make up for the inconsistent season he had at Anfield last season. And, if his two-goal outburst in Karlsruhe is any indication, he’s already staked his claim to lead the Reds’ front line at Stamford Bridge on August 13.
“This was our first game of the season,” Jota explained. “It’s about getting in shape, giving our all in the moment, pressing, and trying to come up with some ideas on the ball.”
“Goals obviously help; the team feels more confident, and the players who score, like me, benefit even more.” That’s what pre-season is all about: gaining confidence and fitness ahead of the season.”
Along with his own goal, other central forwards Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo unofficially opened their accounts for the new season early in the triumph, as they too seek a starting spot. Though whomever gets the nod at Chelsea in just over three weeks and beyond will benefit from the arrivals of Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
That’s because, whether Jordan Henderson chooses to continue his glittering 12-year career at Anfield or rejects a £350,000-per-week offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq, the make-up of Liverpool’s midfield is set to change dramatically in the coming season as an increased emphasis is placed on the attacking midfielders.
That appears to be 24-year-old Mac Allister and 22-year-old Szoboszlai, who combined for 22 goals and 16 assists for Brighton & Hove Albion and RB Leipzig last season. That contrasts sharply with the return of Liverpool’s two first-choice No.8s from last season, Henderson and Thiago Alcantara, who combined for zero goals and four assists in all competitions.
The apparent caveat to such a low return is Henderson’s employment, who has for years now played the position of the safety net around Trent Alexander-Arnold’s brilliance. In reality, it is the Reds captain’s selflessness that has allowed the No.66 to redefine the role of the contemporary full-back.
It remains to be seen how that method will evolve in the near future, with Liverpool now enjoying their first midfield creators since Philippe Coutinho’s time at Anfield five and a half years ago, but all signs lead to Alexander-Arnold spending more time in the engine room.
And, with the constraints lifted from those in Liverpool’s engine room for the first time in Klopp’s eight years at Anfield, the battle between Jota, Nunez, and Gakpo is set to take on a new dimension as the trio compete for the chance to line up ahead of a new-look midfield.
