Diogo Jota confident Liverpool can close gap on Man City

The Reds trail the champions by nine points in the Premier League table

Carl Markham
Thursday 30 December 2021 16:58 GMT
Comments
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota is confident they can close the gap to Manchester City (Mike Egerton/PA)
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota is confident they can close the gap to Manchester City (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota is confident they can close the nine-point gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Manchester City heading into the new year.

By the time Jurgen Klopp’s side walk out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to face second-placed Chelsea – a point in front of the Reds having played one match more – they could trail City by 12 points.

But Jota, who has scored seven times in his last nine appearances and will be expected to shoulder the goalscoring burden when Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane head to the African Nations Cup after the weekend, is confident it is not an insurmountable challenge.

“We know there is that gap but we also know we are able to close that gap and that’s the plan,” he told Liverpool’s website. “But we need to avoid what happened against Leicester (the 1-0 defeat on Tuesday) because if we keep doing the things we did in that game, it’s going to be hard for us.

“We know it’s Chelsea away. We drew with them at home, we know it’s not going to be easy. We both want to close that gap but we know at least one of us is going to be even further back.

“We need to be at our best – I know if we do that we are able to win the game there. We want to start the year well and the only way is to win the game at Stamford Bridge.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in