Pep Lijnders thinks Diogo Jota is irate, and Liverpool are benefiting from it.

Jota has done an excellent job filling in for Mo Salah, who is away at the African Cup of Nations. The Portuguese forward has scored three goals and added four assists since returning from a hamstring ιnjury on Boxing Day against Burnley. Last Sunday, he scored twice in a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth.

Despite the Reds’ preference for Salah, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez up front in the first half of the season, Jota has once again established himself as a mainstay in the starting lineup.

The second leg of Liverpool’s semi-final against Fulham takes place tonight at 20:00 GMT, and the former Wolves forward will start without a doubt. Jurgen Klopp’s squad heads into the match at Craven Cottage with a 2-1 aggregate advantage. Also, Lijnders, who was in charge of the press before the event, wishes Jota the best of luck and says he “wants to run against the world” when he runs.

“I never judge them only on that [goals], but yes, it is really important [also for Darwin],” the assistant manager of Liverpool stated. It’s a testament to the character, passion, and drive of every single one of our players that we have such a strong roster. As a player, Jota is capable of extraordinary things when he is furious, when he wants to run away from the world, or when he has to make a decision.

The way Darwin, Lucho (Luis Diaz), Harvey (Elliott), and Cody (Gakpo) each step up at different times makes us pleased, but we have to get him in that attitude as often as possible. You can never depend on only one. Bobby [Firmino], Mo, and Sadio [Mane] were all involved in the same way. Bobby stepped up his game as Mo struggled. Bobby would have been the one if Sadio and Mo hadn’t. Mo would be the one to score goals if Sadio wasn’t putting them up. What I meаn is that these things do occur when people are taught, devoted, confident, and subjected to drills.