Diogo Jota made an instant impact for Liverpool, scoring with his first touch against Nottingham Forest, but Arne Slot insisted he didn’t “feel any pride” as a result of his decision to bring the forward on.
For a third Premier League match in a row, Slot started a front three of Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, but with Liverpool struggling to get good chances in front of goal, changed things in the 66th minute.
Just before an attacking corner, Jota and Kostas Tsimikas replaced Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson.
Twenty-two seconds after coming onto the pitch, the pair had combined with their respective first touches to draw Liverpool level.
The Portuguese should have then scored again and proved to be Liverpool’s biggest threat in the opposition box, putting three of his four shots on target.
After the match, Slot spoke about his thinking behind the double-change.
The coach explained: “I don’t feel any pride in this substitution because you make a substitution because you have a certain game plan. [This is] why you do this.
“And in this situation, we brought an attacker in for a defender just to play even more attacking football than we already did because we needed a goal, goals.
“And then scoring from a set-piece is not something I had in my mind when I brought the two of them in, but of course, Jota can score a goal and Kostas has [a] good set-piece.”
Slot even told TNT Sports that he felt he was “a bit lucky” because he was taking Konate off, “who is normally a big threat in set-pieces” and replacing him with Jota.
The No. 20 has averaged a goal every 78 minutes across his last five appearances and many supporters are calling for him to regain his place in Slot’s starting XI.
While the No. 20 will also believe his performances merit a starting spot, his impact from the bench is a valuable asset.
Slot was quick to praise the squad’s strength when asked about potential January incomings, saying: “I think you saw today again that I can still strengthen the team or impact the game with the substitutes I have on the bench.
“And not for the first time this season these players have helped us that I could bring in.”
Forest 1-1 Liverpool
