Diogo Jota has claimed that he told Joe Gomez that he was going to assist him before Liverpool’s 2-0 win over in Saturday’s early kick-off.
A late Fabinho penalty sealed the three points for the Reds at Anfield, after Jota had opened the scoring with a glancing header from a Gomez cross.
The result temporarily put Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, two points ahead of , but the Citizens have the chance to retake the lead with victory over Burnley today.
In the post-match interviews on BT Sport, Jota revealed: ‘To be honest I told him before the game that he [Gomez] was going to get an assist.
‘Against Nottingham [Forest in the FA Cup quarter-final] I had a few crosses from him that I did not really expect. Today I was confident, and I told him and fortunately for us it happened.’
Once an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s side, 24-year-old Gomez has struggled for game time of late, with a mix of injuries and tough competition from Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Trent Alexander Arnold, limiting the English defender to just two Premier League starts this season.
But an injury to Alexander-Arnold during the international break gave Gomez the chance to play against Watford, and he made the most of it.
‘Trent’s a top-class player and we know what he brings to the side,’ Gomez said post-match.
‘It’s not naturally my normal position playing there. But given what Jots said prior to the game perhaps he spoke it into existence for me.
‘That’s the nature of being at this club. It’s a tough environment to be in and we have to push each other each week and that’s the job of the squad sometimes to train well and wait for opportunities.’
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