Diogo Jota reveals Jurgen Klopp blamed him for hamstring injury in Tottenham celebrations
- Jota scored last-minute winner in thriller against Tottenham in April
- Klopp pulled hamstring while celebrating in front of match official
- Manager blamed the forward for the injury
By Sean Walsh
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has discussed how Jurgen Klopp blamed him for pulling his hamstring celebrating the Reds' last-minute winner at home to Tottenham in April.
The hosts went 3-0 up at Anfield before Richarlison scored a stoppage-time equaliser for Spurs, only for Jota to go down the other end and win the game from the resulting kick-off.
Klopp famously strained his hamstring while trying to celebrate in front of a match official.
"No scan or ultrasound needed. I have a 2C, which if I was a player would be six weeks out," the Liverpool boss revealed at his next pre-match press conference.
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In an interview with FourFourTwo, Jota was asked whether Klopp actually blamed him for the hamstring injury.
"He did, actually!" Jota replied. "I can't tell you what he said, but when he saw me the next day, he just pointed one finger at me...
"For me, [the winner] was a great moment. I did score winners at Anfield in my first season [2020/21], but there was no crowd. Everybody was telling me, 'Oh, you've just scored a winner in front of the Kop - it would have been amazing if the fans were here'. I needed to wait a couple more years to actually get that feeling. Having that moment was really special - I'll remember it for a long time.
"I didn’t even notice the manager injuring himself at the time. When I arrived in the dressing room, I already had a few friends sending me the video link of him pulling his hamstring after my goal. You cannot write a script like that. I think it didn’t bother him, because it was a key moment for the team. It's a good story to tell!"
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