As Diogo Jota ghosted from nowhere between two bewildered defenders to score with sublime instinct, Anfield experienced a shiver of recognition.
It was pure Fowler. A movement of musical artistry, a glancing header after an unseen run in front of his disorientated marker into the far corner. A classic striker’s goal. Robbie Fowler’s instinctive, at times un-markable, movement in the penalty area was his superpower, the quality which marked him out as the best goalscorer of his generation, and a Liverpool legend.
Yet Jota arrived on Merseyside as a wide player, a goalscoring one it’s true, but not a natural striker. Nowhere near. Watford though, will testify he certainly is that now…as 20 goals this season - for the first time in his career - also illustrates.
His beautiful header won this game (which Fabinho’s late penalty confirmed) and briefly put Liverpool on top of the Premier League. In 50 starts for the Reds now, he has 33 goals. Those are the statistics of a clinical finisher. So did Liverpool spot something in him at Wolves that no other elite level club did? Did their increasingly famous analytics department identify something hidden, or did Jurgen Klopp’s coaching team develop that talent.
It was a bit of both, the manager said, as he reflected on a “world class talent” that has ghosted through into the higher echelons of the Premier League scoring charts almost as unseen as he is on the pitch. “It was always clear that Diogo is not a pure winger, Diogo is a striker who can play on the wing and defend the wing. Both wings, thank God," Klopp explained.
“It was for sure always in him. I said a couple of times, at Wolves he had a different job and he did that job that good that we thought, we want him. And since he came in, he improved a lot - that is a little to do with his age, he is growing into the top world class striker role step by step. So he is actually the player we thought he would be and also a little bit better.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! How does Jota compare to Fowler? Let us know in the comments section
It makes for an interesting debate. With Liverpool - and also Manchester City - there has long been an argument that they would be even better (as if that were possible for two of the greatest teams of all time!) with a recognised centre forward. Both play with a ‘false nine’, and a rotating forward line whose movement is the key to their success…as Klopp said after this huge win: “Where we struggle sometimes is being too static - you have to be fluid.”
Yet both have ‘wide players’ who can not only operate through the middle, but score with all the instinct of the legendary centre forwards. Salah and Jota are the top two in the Premier League scoring charts, Riyad Mahrez has 21 goals for City. So is the debate now obsolete? Klopp thinks so.
Klopp added: “Diogo played for us in three positions up front and always did well. For us it is really important to play the game and not the position. We have to end up in these fluid situations where they (ghost in) high up, otherwise if nobody is there, it is just a great cross with no outcome.” To put it clearly, Klopp is suggesting a ‘traditional’ centre forward would disrupt Liverpool’s fluidity...and perhaps their astonishing goals output. It helps though, when you have forward with Fowler’s instincts.
