Diogo Jota's ALARMING Liverpool slump means Arne Slot will soon turn to Darwin Nunez | OneFootball

Diogo Jota kicked off the Arne Slot era at Liverpool with the opening goal against Ipswich Town. He then assisted the opener in the win over Brentford as the Reds.

The Portuguese attacker, free from injury, looked on course to have a productive campaign at Anfield.

Read more: The £84m Liverpool striker solution

He’s now three appearances without a goal involvement and his general performances are a concern. The 27-year-old appears to be permanently on the periphery in a new-look Liverpool attack.

In his latest outing, a 3-1 victory for the Reds away at San Siro, the former Wolves attacker was replaced after 68 minutes. His stats didn’t paint a pretty picture.

He missed two big chances and turned shots with an Expected Goals value of 0.68 into efforts with an Expected Goals on Target total of 0.24. His shot selection and execution devalued the efforts.

For a finisher such as Jota, this is a bit of a worry.

Jota's numbers trending downward

This has been a common theme this season for the 44-cap international.

He leads the way for Big Chances Missed in the Premier League for the Reds with three. His xG haul is on par with Luis Diaz and just 0.1 behind what Mohamed Salah has managed. He’s getting the chances. He’s just not taking them.

And that is really evident when looking at the data. For example, his Expected Goals on Target total is just 1.1, significantly down on his xG total. By comparison, Diaz and Salah have added value to their efforts and have an xG on Target total of 2.65.

Football - Pre-season Friendly - Liverpool FC v Sevilla FC LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, August 11, 2024: Liverpool s Diogo Jota R celebrates with team-mate captain Virgil van Dijk after scoring the first goal during a pre-season friendly match between Liverpool FC and Sevilla FC at Anfield. Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda LIVERPOOL Anfield MERSEYSIDE ENGLAND PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xDavidxRawcliffex P2024-08-11-Liverpool_Sevilla-35

So while two-thirds of the front three are overperforming, the Liverpool No20 is underperforming. And this is putting his overall performance under the microscope. Because, you see, when you’re scoring goals, poor performances can be papered over.

However, when there are no goals, there’s no way to redirect. There are no distractions. The focus is on what a player isn’t doing.

And, right now, Jota isn’t doing much.

Jota struggling for involvement

Against Milan, he attempted just 13 passes and won one of his eight duels. This follows on from the 13 passes he attempted in 60 minutes in the loss to Nottingham Forest. The Portuguese presser won just two of his six duels in that game. In the win over United, Jota attempted just 11 passes and won just two of his 13 duels.

He’s barely involved on the ball, and this is likely by design given Santiago Gimenez, Slot’s favoured centre-forward at Feyenoord, was averaging just 14 passes per 90 across the two seasons he was in Rotterdam with the Dutch tactician.

The attacking midfielder, in this instance Dominik Szoboszlai, sees more of the ball and plays the part of the creator. Jota is tasked with doing a lot of work out of possession and this is what makes it difficult to quantify how well he’s carrying out his role.

What we can quantify isn’t doing him any favours, is it?

Fewer than 15 passes per appearance and he’s not exactly precise with these attempted passes, finding a teammate just 54% of the time versus Palace and 64% against United. His shot volume has dropped over the past three matches (two per game on average). He’s devaluing the efforts he is having and he’s losing the majority of his duels.

Football - FA Premier League - Ipswich Town FC v Liverpool FC IPSWICH, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 17, 2024: Liverpool s Diogo Jota celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the FA Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Liverpool FC at Portman Road. Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda IPSWICH Portman Road SUFFOLK ENGLAND PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xDavidxRawcliffex P2024-08-17-Ipswich_Liverpool-81

Jota's creativity drying up

The creative side of his game has taken a bit of a hit too. Whereas in pre-season he was creating chances and moments for the Reds, even chipping in with assists, these appeared to have dried up since the campaign kicked off. He’s carved out just two chances in his last three appearances.

No goals. Big chances missed. No assists. No reliable supply line to other attackers. It isn’t looking good for the one-time Atletico attacker. But Jota is clearly doing enough to retain his place in Slot’s starting XI.

How long before the Dutchman throws Darwin Nunez into the mix though? Sooner or later, he’s going to need to contribute if he’s going to remain as the first-choice attacker for the Reds.

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