Paddy Kenny says Liverpool forward cannot complain being substituted
Paddy Kenny has insisted that Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota cannot complain after being replaced at half-time by Luis Diaz against Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday.
The Portuguese international started alongside Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah against Villarreal with the Reds leading 2-0 from the first leg.
However, a strong showing by Umai Emery’s side in the first half completely stunned the Reds with Villarreal leading 2-0.
Jota was replaced at half-time by the in-form Luis Diaz and the Colombian changed the complexion of the game.
Diaz scored the second goal for the Reds as they came back to win the game 3-2 and the tie 5-2 on aggregate.
Paddy Kenny has claimed that Jota should not complain about being subbed as he could not make much of an impact in the first half.
The former Leeds United keeper has suggested that Liverpool have fantastic strength in depth across their squad right now.
Kenny has insisted that Jurgen Klopp had the right to be ruthless at half-time by taking Jota off. He told Football Insider:
“I mean, he can’t complain, can he? He’s not scored for a few weeks now and Liverpool’s options are absolutely ridiculous.”“Luis Diaz is just sat there on the bench and he’s in great form. It’s actually a surprise he didn’t start.”“But he had a shocking first half, like a lot of players, and Klopp had to be ruthless at half-time.”
Kenny has suggested that Jota has slipped down the pecking order following the arrival of Diaz in January.
The 43-year-old reckons that the Portuguese attacker has had a great season but needs to pick up his game after a dip in form of late. He added:
“If you are not performing, you are out. It’s as simple as that. Jota can’t complain and now he’s slipped down the pecking order.”“He’s still had a great season, he’s a brilliant player. But now he knows he can’t take his foot off the gas.”
Jota has 21 goals and seven assists in 48 games across all competitions this season.
However, he has suffered a blip in form lately, having failed to score in his last seven outings.
Liverpool will only benefit from the intense competition for places
Liverpool currently have arguably the deepest squad in Europe and that has certainly helped them.
Without such depth, it wouldn’t be possible for them to stay in the hunt for a quadruple.
It would be quite a historic achievement if they can bag all four trophies at the end of the season.
