Diogo Jota on Real Madrid danger, goalscoring form and Trent's assists
Liverpool will need to ‘run a lot and fight a lot’ if they’re to secure a positive result in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid on Tuesday night, Diogo Jota has stated.
The Reds have arrived in Spain ahead of the fixture at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, where they will aim to take a step towards the final four of the tournament.
However, Real are unbeaten in their last 11 matches in all competitions, winning each of their last four outings, and Jota has highlighted the considerable danger they will present to Jürgen Klopp’s side’s European ambitions.
Read on for a transcript of what the striker told reporters during a virtual press conference from Madrid on Monday night…
On equalling his best ever return for goals in a single season for club and country…
Obviously I am scoring a good amount of goals. That’s what I want to do; help the team in the rest of the season. I don’t mind if I don’t score as long as the team wins.
On being assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold…
It is really important for me. Obviously, we attacking players need the deliveries most of the time and we all know Trent’s ability in terms of crossing and passing. It’s not his first assist and I hope it is not the last one!
On facing Real Madrid on the back of three successive victories…
We are in good momentum; we left for the international break with two wins and two clean sheets. Now we follow the same path with another good win and the performance was a lot better as well than in previous games. We want to build on that, [but] tomorrow is a big challenge for us and we need to be ready.
On what it will take to defeat Real Madrid…
It will take a lot - a lot of effort, mainly. We will probably need to run a lot, to fight a lot, because of the way they play. They are the team with the most titles in this competition, [so] they are used to the knockout stages and we are going to need to be at our best if we want to get a result tomorrow.
On how he thinks Real Madrid will approach the game in terms of tactics and formation…
Obviously the system is important, but I think the most important thing is the way they play. We have our manager that can probably guess, but we will never be sure until the game time, so we need to make sure we know their routines, even when they change a little bit because the ideas will be there [and] will still be the same. I think it is hard to predict things like that, we just need to do our best and know what they can do as well, even if they play with three or four at the back.
On his time with Real Madrid’s city rivals, Atletico…
I signed for Atletico, but I didn’t play any official game, so for me obviously I knew they are a rival but I didn’t have time to feel that rivalry. I am just focused on winning the game for Liverpool and nothing more.
On returning to fitness and form after a three-month lay-off…
For a player, injury is the worst [thing] that can happen. Seeing the team on TV and you can’t do anything to help is frustrating. I needed to focus on my recovery and to be back on the pitch and do what I have been doing – which is to help, to do my best and hopefully to score goals and keep doing that.
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