Diogo Jota overtakes Firmino in 2020 goal tally with stunning hat-trick vs Atalanta​​​​​​​

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota continued his exceptional start to life in a red shirt with a stunning hat-trick against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday. Jurgen Klopp's Reds were in fine form as they recorded a 5-0 win over La Dea at the Gewiss Stadium to make it three wins in three in Group D. Surprisingly, Jota's hat-trick vs Atalanta took his Liverpool tally to seven in just five starts with the Portuguese overtaking regular starter Roberto Firmino's tally of five goals since the start of 2020. 

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Diogo Jota hat-trick seals emphatic win for Liverpool vs Atalanta

It took Jota only 16 minutes to open the scoring for Liverpool against Atalanta as the 23-year-old, who started in place of Roberto Firmino, showed some great strength to hold off his marker before neatly chipping the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. Jota's second came just after the half-hour mark as he flicked the ball over his defender and smashed it beyond Sportiello at his near post. 

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Mo Salah and Sadio Mane then scored in quick succession just after the break to make it 4-0. Jota then completed his treble in the 55th minute of the game to complete the rout and make it 5-0 with another tidy finish. The red-hot forward rounded the goalkeeper to slot the ball into an empty net for his first Liverpool hat-trick. While speaking to reporters after the game, Jota said, "I'm playing in the best team in my career and scoring is my way of playing football."

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Jota has now scored seven goals for Liverpool since arriving at the club from Wolves in a £45 million deal in September and has already become a vital player for the defending Premier League champions. There have also been growing calls from fans to replace Jota with Roberto Firmino as a regular in the starting line-up. Firmino has struggled for goals since the start of this year, having scored only five times in 32 appearances for the Reds. 

The Brazilian's only goal this season came against Sheffield United and a string of poor displays have seen fans asking for Firmino to be dropped. Firmino has built up a reputation as more of a playmaker for Liverpool’s prolific wide men, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, in recent years. However, the 29-year-old's ability to get goals and assists himself has dwindled in recent times.

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Jota's winning strikes against Sheffield United and West Ham in the Premier League have also helped Liverpool to the top of the tree. Liverpool will now face Man City on Sunday and Klopp has quite a decision to make with Jota. However, Klopp addressed this issue after the game, stating that there are some people in the world who will ignore Firmino's record for Liverpool. Klopp stressed that Liverpool wouldn't be in the Champions League without Firmino's efforts. 

Image Credits - Liverpoolfc.com