Liverpool match-winner praises ‘amazing’ midfield summer signing after assist

Diogo Jota praised the summer signing of Alexis Mac Allister after his assist allowed the forward to complete a late double which secured Liverpool their first win of their pre-season tour.

The Reds travelled out to Germany last week and their game against 2. Bundesliga side Karlsruher was the first of their pre-season schedule. Jurgen Klopp’s side ran out 4-2 winners thanks to Jota’s two strikes in added time, as Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo also found the net as they made a winning start to their summer preparations.

Both summer signings made their first appearances for the club as Dominik Szoboszlai completed the first 45 minutes before Mac Allister was brought on for the second half.

Mac Allister secured his first assist for the club after pressing high and winning the ball back before laying a perfectly weighted through ball for Jota, who scored his second in two minutes to round-off the victory. And the Portuguese international praised his new teammate after the game, claiming that he ‘likes’ to play with these type of players.

Speaking on the link-up with the former Brighton man, he explained: “I really like this kind of players I have to tell you, they can see the passes and it’s almost like you just need to make the run and they will see it and that’s amazing. I start to see that I can link-up very well with him and hopefully we can take this into the season.”

Nunez opened the scoring for Liverpool in the third minute after being put through by Mohamed Salah. The Uruguayan had initially opted to pass instead of shoot before the ball found it’s way back to the forward for an easy finish. The German side then scored twice either side of half-time to take the lead, but a sharp turn and finish from Gakpo in the 69th minute brought them level.

Good work from Gakpo then allowed Jota to wriggle through and produce a deft finish to earn a late-lead in the 92nd minute, before they broke through once again to score their fourth just a minute later.

Having endured a frustrating season with injuries last season, Jota still recorded seven goals and eight assists as he enjoyed a strong second half to the season. He now faces competition for a place in the side as the likes of Gakpo, Nunez and Diaz all pose significant competition for the forward, but he’s certainly made the best possible start so far.