Jota and Keita start for Liverpool at Real Madrid

Jurgen Klopp selected Diogo Jota in attack and dropped Roberto Firmino to the bench for Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Real Madrid.

Jota came on with the game goalless and netted a brace in Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Arsenal.

Although Firmino was initially on the field along with Jota, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at Emirates Stadium, the Brazil forward had to be content with a place on the bench in the Spanish capital.

Jota’s brace took him up to 12 goals for the campaign in his debut season at Anfield, level with Mane and double Firmino’s six, despite injury restricting him to 1,269 minutes on the field.

Firmino has played 2,661 minutes, meaning he averages a goal every 443.5 minutes, with Jota’s one per 105.75 minutes the best ratio among all of Liverpool’s forwards. Salah’s 26 goals in 2020-21 have arrived at one every 128.7 minutes.

Tonight’s line-up to face @realmadrid  #RMALIV | #UCL

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 6, 2021

Naby Keita has endured another injury-impacted season with the Reds, but Klopp gave him the nod in midfield alongside Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum, with ex-Barcelona man Thiago Alcantara among the substitutes.

Liverpool were set to confront a patched-up Real Madrid back four in a rematch of the 2018 final, with Raphael Varane’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis putting him on the sidelines with skipper Sergio Ramos and right-back Dani Carvajal.

Lucas Vazquez, Nacho and Eder Militao were chosen as the men to step in alongside first-choice left-back Ferland Mendy.

 Our starting XI  @LFC! #UCL pic.twitter.com/goMK5HQKVs

— Real Madrid C.F.