Garth Crooks claims Liverpool player looked ‘ordinary’ despite Southampton win; teammate was ‘joy to watch’

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Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that Diogo Jota missed out on his Premier League Team of the Week because he produced an ordinary performance as Liverpool thrashed Southampton, with Mohamed Salah getting the nod ahead of the Portuguese.

The Reds produced another outstanding display to put Saturday’s game to bed before the break.

It was Jota who had put Jurgen Klopp’s side in front inside two minutes. The forward doubled the lead, before Thiago added another to his collection before the interval.

Virgil van Dijk completed the scoring early on in the second-half.

The brace for Jota moved him alongside Sadio Mane in the scoring charts for this season. Only Salah and Jamie Vardy have more.

Nevertheless, Crooks felt that his overall display did not warrant a place in his team. But he had nothing but praise for Salah.

“Some of my readers will be a little surprised that Diogo Jota is nowhere to be seen among my selections this week. That’s because I thought his performance (two goals or not) was ordinary in comparison to Sadio Mane and especially Salah,” he told BBC Sport.

“The Egypt international is a joy to watch at the moment. There isn’t a better striker in the word than Salah when he is playing for the team and not merely chasing goals. Against the Saints he was superb.”

Liverpool fans will take an ‘ordinary’ Jota performance that includes two goals

There are not many players in the Premier League who can score twice in a game and be described as ordinary.

There are even fewer who are arguably not even a first-choice in their club’s strongest lineup.

Jota boasts some outrageous numbers this term. Seven goals in 10 starts is a superb return.

And with that, Liverpool look to be in a decent position for when they are without two of the best forwards in world football at the start of the new year.

Obviously, the situation is not ideal for the Reds. But Jota’s form suggests that they have every chance of making the best of a bad situation.