Q&ADiogo Jota interview: Breaking down his derby winner and the 'final' at Fulham

The No.20 settled the 246th Merseyside derby with a moment of individual brilliance in the second half, jinking his way into the Blues' penalty area before dispatching a composed finish.

That goal clinched a 1-0 victory for Arne Slot's men and restored their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League, with eight fixtures now remaining in the campaign.

The next 'final' on the slate for Jota and his teammates now arrives quickly on Sunday when they travel to Europe-chasing Fulham.

Liverpoolfc.com sat down with Jota at the AXA Training Centre to analyse his derby-sealing moment and preview that Craven Cottage encounter with Marco Silva's side. Read on for the insightful interview…

Diogo, we have to start with your winner in the Merseyside derby at the Kop end. It doesn't get much better than that as a Liverpool player really...

Yeah, you're right. A special moment for me and for the team obviously as well – not only because it's a derby but because [after] the international break we needed to start well [in] this run-in. Hopefully it gives us momentum to go [for] the rest of the season.

It was your 65th goal for Liverpool – is it your most important yet?

I hope not! I hope there's some more moments to come. I think it's obviously a special one because of it being a derby but also because of the critical moment that we are in in the season where we need to grab those points to be able to win the league. That's what we all want.

You told us earlier this season that your favourite goal was the one against Arsenal at the Kop end in November 2021. Does the Everton one top that?

It was a bit different. I'm not sure. Maybe, because of the importance. I think in that [Arsenal] game we won by more than one goal. I think now this one being a match-winner obviously has more importance. For sure one of my favourites.

Can you tell us about the goal itself? It's becoming a bit of a trademark of yours with the quick feet, getting yourself into a little bit of space and then sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Is it all about instinct or do you work on that?

I think it's the kind of player I am. [When] I was a kid I played further back on the pitch, I was like a midfielder and I always did these runs with the ball. But now this doesn't happen as often because obviously I play as a striker now. But every time I have that opportunity to face the game, I think I still do that. [Against Everton], I recovered the ball because the ball was with their midfielder, Lucho [Luis Diaz] was there and could give me [the ball] and you just take it as it is. The No.6 was coming, so I tried to go past him. I learned in the first half when I had a similar chance and I thought I should have just kept on dribbling instead of shooting, and that's what I did in the second half. Fortunately for me and for the team, it was a goal.

How big a moment was it for you personally? This season has possibly been a bit frustrating for you...

I remember when I came back from one of my injuries against Fulham as well, that goal was really important. I think I scored quite a few important goals this season and that's always what I try to do. Obviously this season in general is not what we want, like you said, with a few setbacks. But every time I'm on the pitch, I try to help the team. We all know that players aren't always in their best shape in terms of numbers. But in terms of effort, I think I've always been the same every time I'm on the pitch.

The win against Everton means you're 12 points clear with eight games to go. Do you view them as eight finals left now?

For sure. Apart from this game against Fulham where we still have those three days that we have had for the majority of this season, we'll pretty much have seven days roughly [between each game]. So, we'll be prepared for each one properly. For sure each game will be a final from now on.

Fulham are always a difficult opponent and were at Anfield in December. What kind of game are you expecting it to be on Sunday?

A tough game. I know their manager – he's Portuguese and I follow his work. They are always tough games. He obviously sets the team [up] very well and he's getting results. It's going to be another tough game but I think at this stage of the season, rather than playing well, you want to win and we'll do everything we can to do that.