Diogo Jota reveals conversation with Kostas Tsimikas seconds before instant impact
Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas were bought on as second-half substitutes and needed just over 20 seconds before they combined to score Liverpool's equaliser at Nottingham Forest
Diogo Jota claims he and Kostas Tsimikas said they were going to recreate a previous goal when they came on as subs - combining less than 30 seconds later.
The two Liverpool stars appeared off the bench with their side looking for an equaliser at Nottingham Forest and made an instant impact. Tsimikas came on and immediately swung in a corner, which Jota was able to head in in front of the travelling fans.
It cancelled out Chris Wood's opening goal, which set the City Ground alight, as Forest looked to prove they truly could be part of the title race. In the end the two teams had to share the spoils with Liverpool - and Jota - having more opportunities to win the game.
Arne Slot's choices were quickly vindicated when Tsimikas and Jota combined with the duo chatting about their plans when they were waiting to be subbed on.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp can laugh but Trent Alexander-Arnold's glaring Liverpool issue remains on showREAD MORE: Nottingham Forest hold Liverpool as Reds miss chance to extend lead - 5 talking pointsThe Portuguese star told TNT Sports: "I actually said to him, we were watching the cup goal two or three years ago where he passed to me, we were on the touchline and I said let's go recreate the goal. He took the corner and and it was a goal, everything went right, but I'm not totally happy because I think we could've won."
His strike continues his stellar record against the Nottingham outfit - but Jota insists there's nothing about the fixture that particularly stands out. He said: "I think it is just a coincidence, I love to score goals. I score with my first touch today which gives the twam momentum but I had two more chances I could've given us three point, but I couldn't."
The draw means Liverpool don't lose any ground to Forest, although Arsenal can close the gap somewhat should they win on Wednesday night. "I think there's a long way to go in the Premier League, every ground you go to is always hard," said Jota.
Slot was particularly thrilled with how his changes impacted the game - especially after choosing to bring off Ibrahima Konate ahead of a set piece, where he is usually a major threat.
He said: "You need to be a bit lucky with that [substitutions]. We took Ibou [Konate] out at that moment who is normally a big threat on set pieces but we all know Jota can score a goal and Tsmikas has a good delivery. We brought them in to score a goal but they really did it after 20 seconds."
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