Diogo Jota on his first year at Liverpool, UCL aims and Porto return
Diogo Jota loved his first year at Liverpool and has pledged that the Reds will strive to compete for silverware on all fronts this season.
The Portugal international faced the media on Monday afternoon prior to joining his teammates as they travel to his hometown for their Champions League meeting with FC Porto.
Read a full transcript of Jota’s pre-match press conference below…
On his first year as a Liverpool player…
Well, 12 months like you said, it’s already a mark. I think playing for this amazing club with such surroundings like Anfield, so much support all over the world, it’s special. In the end, all we players want to provide to every person [with] is to win football matches and to win competitions. So, we are at the start of a new season and we will go for everything.
On how much he has learned and improved in the last 12 months…
Well, I think I always try to do my best in terms of being on the pitch, being able to help my teammates. That’s always what I try to do and I think playing under Jürgen and with this team, it helped me as well because we played a lot of attacking football and me being an attacking player I take advantage of that because I’m always around the goal.
On hoping to help Liverpool to more Champions League success this season…
Yeah, I had the opportunity to see how it is to play in a full Anfield on a European night. I think it was massive for me, it was my first experience - I knew it was going to be, but when you are really there that’s when you really learn. I think in the first half AC Milan, although they were winning I don’t know how... we did a fantastic first half and the fans there really pushed us and they are really useful to our style of game.
On arriving at the club and his thoughts on how he could get into a team containing Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah…
Obviously I knew they were one of the best attacking trios in the world but I never thought about coming and taking anyone’s place. I thought about coming and to give my best in training and in games, and then it is up to the manager to decide. I think it’s always useful when you have those kind of players to help you, because in the end what we want is to win and only if you have good players you are able to do that.
On whether Porto will still be ‘hurting’ after Liverpool’s last two visits to the Dragao…
It’s hard to say. I think me, not only me, but I follow Porto obviously and I know those results weren’t good for Porto and they didn’t show the real difference between the teams. Mainly playing at the Dragao is never easy for the away teams so I know if we let ourselves go there thinking about those results, we’ll be struggling.
On whether he discussed the game with his Portugal teammates while on international duty and what he is expecting from his return to the Dragao, where he spent the 2016-17 season on loan...
I’m not sure. Had the draw been made at that time? I can’t remember the dates, but I don’t remember having spoken specifically about this game. I think in the next international break we will definitely have the opportunity to talk about this game. In terms of the expectation, it will be a very difficult game. I know how difficult it is for an away team to come and play at the Dragao and I have also told my teammates about this difficulty.
On what kind of Porto team he is expecting to face and whether they will approach the game differently to previous matches against the Reds…
I would say it will be closer to the team that came up against Chelsea [in last season’s Champions League]. Obviously Porto’s objective in the games they lost to Liverpool, they intended to give a difficult game, but that’s football. Sometimes we can’t impose our game plan, sometimes we can. But I’m sure it will be a tough game tomorrow.