Diogo Jota saved Liverpool after making an instant impact against Nottingham Forest, breaking a club record in the process.
The Portuguese had scored four goals in as many matches against Forest leading up to Tuesday’s game, but he had to make do with a place on the bench.
With Liverpool toiling midway through the second half, Jota was brought on to save the day, and he delivered emphatically.
Just 22 seconds after being introduced, the 28-year-old headed home Kostas Tsimikas‘ corner, earning Liverpool a point.
Jota was also twice denied by Matz Sels soon after, having the biggest impact of any player and winning This Is Anfield‘s Man of the Match award.
In fact, the No. 20’s header was the fastest goal from a Liverpool substitute since Premier League records began in 2006/07, beating Daniel Sturridge‘s 24 seconds against West Ham in August 2018 per statistician Ged Rea (@ged0407)
Jota (12) has now jumped into joint-fifth place in the Reds’ highest goalscorers from the bench, drawing level with Ryan Babel and Divock Origi.
Only Sturridge (13), Mohamed Salah (14), Roberto Firmino (16) and David Fairclough (18) are ahead of him.
The fastest Premier League goal from a substitute came from Newcastle‘s Sammy Ameobi, who took just eight seconds to score from the bench against Tottenham in 2014/15.
Time for more starts for Jota?
Jota may be a brilliant impact substitute, but now fully fit and firing, he has to be leading the line for Liverpool during the second half of the season.
Granted, he is a player who needs to be managed carefully, given his injury record down the years, but he is arguably the Reds’ most ruthless finisher.
Luis Diaz has enjoyed a good season, shining as a false nine at times, but it is an experiment that is beginning to look flawed against low blocks.
In Jota, Liverpool have a fighter who delivers in big moments, and he can be a massive player between now and the end of the season.
Arne Slot will surely be considering throwing him into the starting XI at Brentford on Saturday afternoon, in what has the potential to be another tight away game.
That’s not to be too harsh on Diaz, who has been impressive on the whole, but it feels like the right time to make a change to the attack.
