“It was a bit childish from our side” - Diogo Jota expresses concern over Liverpool despite win against Fulham

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has expressed his concerns regarding the Reds' defensive vulnerabilities despite their win against Fulham on Sunday, April 21. Jurgen Klopp's side desperately needed a victory at the Craven Cottage and Jota helped them secure all three points.

The Merseyside giants have not been at their best of late and have been knocked out of the Europa League following a 3-1 aggregate defeat against Atalanta in the quarter-finals. Their Premier League hopes also suffered a major blow following a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace last week.

While Liverpool managed to secure a 3-1 victory against Fulham, it was far from a convincing victory. Timothy Castagne's 45th-minute equalizer to cancel Trent Alexander-Arnold's stunning opener gave Jurgen Klopp's side plenty to think about.

Diogo Jota has criticized his own team for their inability to keep away Fulham from scoring and allowing the Cottagers too much room to hurt them. The Portugal international has insisted that his side need to control the game better. He told Premier League Productions, as quoted by Kop Times:

“I always like to say, sometimes it’s like ketchup, because when the first drop comes out, everything flows. I hope that’s the case for the team. Three goals today was good away from home, and in three days we will play again, so let’s take that. Obviously it was a long time for me without playing and in the starting XI, and watching from home I think we missed sometimes this goal which brings the extra comfort and kind of kills the game in a way. It’s massive for us, it was a really good game like I said, especially second half. We need to take that into the next game.”

Jota added:

“I have to say it was a bit childish from our side, the way we conceded. Obviously that was their best momentum in the first half and we didn’t know how to control it. We had the chance to do it with a couple of goal-kicks, we tried to play fast, I don’t think that was a clever thing to do. And we conceded. That’s football, that’s the Premier League.”

Diogo Jota scored Liverpool's third goal against Fulham which killed the game off and also showed how dearly the Reds missed him. The Liverpool attacker has scored 15 goals and produced four assists this season across competitions while playing just 1710 minutes of football.

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Michael Owen heaps praise on manager linked with the Liverpool job

Liverpool icon Michael Owen has heaped praise on Aston Villa manager Unai Emery labelling him as an 'all-round manager'. The Spaniard is one of the many managers who have been linked with the soon-to-be-vacant managerial job at Anfield with Jurgen Klopp set to step down this summer.

Michael Owen has highlighted how good Emery has been as a manager throughout his managerial stint, especially how successful he has been in Europe. The former Liverpool and Manchester United striker said:

“I think there are so many different ways a manager show their worth. Some managers can only work if they have got a lot of money and they are very good at selecting certain players. Some are brilliant on a shoestring; if you give them money, they are not very good at spending it. Some can improve players. I think this guy certainly can, he has shown that."

The former Real Madrid attacker said:

“Actually it feels like he is an all-round manager. I mean, he can win trophies as well. He has got a career littered with trophies. He is into a semi-final as well of a European competition, and he is incredible in Europe."

Emery has won 11 trophies during his managerial career across Europe but his stint at Arsenal was a forgettable one. A four-time Europa League winner, Emery has done an immense job since taking charge at Aston Villa midway through last season.