Diogo Jota scored a type of goal against Union SG which has been thin on the ground for Liverpool. Jürgen Klopp will be delighted to see it return

Making a list of the best goals scored by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool would be an impossible task. There have been far too many classic moments to whittle down to a list of 10.

Football is about meaning and memories too. A goal that has been largely forgotten by the wider fan base might strike a chord with a single supporter for what it meant to them at that moment. That would make it worthy of a berth in their Desert Island goals, even if its significance was ultimately minimal to the team.

While maybe not top 10 material, one criminally underrated goal is the Reds’ fourth against Crystal Palace in 2020, the day before they were crowned champions of England for the 19th time following Manchester City’s defeat at Chelsea. It was classic Klopp’s Liverpool, with Roberto Firmino passing to Mohamed Salah, who in turn assisted Sadio Mané. The Reds hit the Eagles on the counter and they couldn’t do a thing about it.

For all that Klopp sides are known for gegenpressing and winning the ball in the attacking third to unleash “his favorite playmaker,” at their best they also break on teams really well. There was evidence of this in the 2-0 win over Union SG, even if the goal in question was not as silky nor smooth as the aforementioned Palace move.

In stoppage time, with Liverpool a goal to the good, the visitors won a throw-in level with the edge of the Reds’ penalty area and poured forward to fill the box. At 91:16, Ibrahima Konaté cleared the ball, by 91:27 it was in the back of the Union SG net. Remarkably, Diogo Jota’s goal wasn’t just Liverpool’s first through counter-attacking this season but their first for 18 games, a run stretching back to the 6-1 victory at Elland Road in April.

Before we continue, it’s worth noting data provider Opta has a strict definition for what constitutes a counter-attack in their eyes: ‘An attempt created after the defensive quickly turn defense into attack winning the ball in their own half’. Goals that you might think of as counters may not be in their record books as such thanks to the criteria.

Even so, it is unusual for Liverpool to go so long without one in the Klopp era. In the seven Premier League seasons prior to the German’s first full campaign in charge the Reds scored 23; in the seven since they have bagged 43. The 10 they scored in 2019/20 is the joint-most any top-flight side has mustered since the available records began a decade earlier, and the most since 2014/15. Pep Guardiola’s City might dominate possession more but they’re not as good as Liverpool on the break when given the chance.

It’s not that the Reds haven’t had opportunities. Opta-defined counter-attack shots occurred against Bournemouth, Newcastle, LASK and West Ham, they just weren’t taken, with Darwin Núñez and Salah missing two apiece. They obviously just needed Jota to show them how to do it.

Hardly. For all the Portuguese forward’s strengths, his goal on Thursday night was the first of six counter-attacking shots he’s had for Liverpool in the league or in Europe which was converted (per WhoScored). But he does have a cool head in front of goal, something which would benefit Núñez, as we again saw against the Belgian side.

Any analysis of Liverpool’s season so far is inevitably riddled with flaws, thanks to the unlikely circumstances in which much of it has been played. Maybe if Luis Díaz’s goal at Tottenham stands, the 10 men later hit Spurs on the break to score, for instance?

Let’s just hope Jota has unblocked a dam of counter-attack goals. His effort against Union SG might not make it onto any ‘best goals ever’ list but he proved how hitting teams on the break can be invaluable in making wins secure. More please, Reds.