Since joining the Reds from Wolves in the summer of 2020, Jota has made 21 appearances for Liverpool this season, netting ten goals in the process.
The Portuguese winger scored the winner against his former side in Liverpool’s previous Premier League fixture as the Reds claimed a 1-0 victory against Wolves at Molineux.
Ljinders believes that Jota possesses the intuition and instinct of a world-class forward as he stated that the 24-year-old is on the same level as Liverpool’s star front three comprising of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Liverpool’s assistant coach went on to insist that the pure attacking attributes that Jota has in his arsenal are difficult to coach and speaks to the winger’s adaptability and quality.
“Jota is on the same technical level as our front three – I said this before and the whole world can see it. Quick and being quick in mind is a lethal combination for a striker, he has ‘direction’ in his game”, Lijnders told Liverpool’s official site.
“It says a lot how quick he adapted to the team and how quick the team adapted to him.
“It’s just pure quality as a team player and as a person.
“He has this positioning in the box where he is often on the right spot in the right time.
“This intuition in the box, this pure instinct, that is something that is so difficult to coach.
“I still find it really difficult to coach that attribute.”
Jota will look to back up his coach’s belief in him by putting in more match-winning performances as Liverpool look to fight for a place in the top four in the Premier League.
