‘They’re like KETCHUP!’: Diogo Jota reveals Cristiano Ronaldo’s bizarre goal analogy after he ended his 12-month drought with a brace against Leeds during Liverpool’s demolition at Elland Road
Diogo Jota scored his first Premier League goal of the season against Leeds United on Monday and recalled the advice Cristiano Ronaldo gave him when addressing the press after the game.
Jota found the back of the net in the 52nd minute of Liverpool’s 6-1 win over Leeds and added a second in the 73rd minute of the game. The 26-year-old was delighted to have won a brace given his difficulty in front of goal this season.
Jota has suffered a serious goal drought this season after struggling with fitness issues. However, he said Ronaldo’s words of encouragement helped him score his Premier League goal for Liverpool since April 2022.
Jota’s Portuguese team-mate told him that scoring goals is like ‘opening a ketchup bottle’, ‘when the first drop comes out, everything comes out’.
Jota – who has overcome hamstring and calf problems this season – proved Ronaldo right by scoring two goals in one game for Liverpool.
Diogo Jota scored his first Premier League goal of the season against Leeds United on Monday
Jota found the back of the net in the 52nd minute of Liverpool’s 6-1 win over Leeds and added a second in the 73rd minute of the game to end his goal drought
Jota recalled the advice Cristiano Ronaldo gave him when he spoke to the press after the game
As a result, during his post-game interview on Monday night, Jota was asked about the idea of ”opening a ketchup bottle.”
Jota told Sky Sports after the game: “That’s one of the lines Ronaldo said and it’s really stuck with me all these years.
“I think football is unpredictable, and these are the things we like about this football game. Things can change very quickly.’
Ronaldo first used that analogy in 2010 as he struggled to find the back of the net on the international stage.
The striker had endured a 16-month goal drought in the run-up to the World Cup in South Africa when he made the comment.
But like Jota, he found the back of the net against North Korea and the floodgates opened again.
Jota – who scored 36 times in 105 appearances for Liverpool – wants to build on his performance against Leeds on Monday night.
Jota was also asked if Liverpool’s win over Leeds has fueled their hopes of finishing in the top four.
The Liverpool star responded by saying ‘yes and no’. He continued: ‘We have great results this season, great scores – 7-0, 9-0. So we have these results before, but we just have to keep our feet on the ground because the next game is a completely different game.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted with his team’s performance on Monday. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: ‘[I enjoyed it] a lot of! I think it’s the best game we’ve played this season, from all different perspectives.
“It was a really good match, sensational goals. back pressure, [the] best game, [I was] almost say [in] decades, but it’s been a really long time!’
Jota said Liverpool’s win over Leeds has revived their hopes of finishing in the top four
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted with his team’s performance on Monday
While the score was impressive, it wasn’t their biggest margin in the league this year. At the beginning of March, they beat Manchester United 7-0 at home.
“My favorite situation is when we lose the ball in the 92nd minute and four players chase the poor Leeds lad, and that was absolutely excellent,” Klopp continued. ‘Exactly what we wanted.
“To play good football you need stability. You only get stability by defending. When you are in a negative flow, you always make wrong decisions.
“I can’t really explain why our back pressure wasn’t there, we ask for it all the time, but tonight it clicked.”