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Portuguese Abroad goals: Klopp praises Jota after Liverpool winner; Marcos Paulo on target in Brazil; Paixão, João firing in Poland, England

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp heaped praise on Diogo Jota after the Portuguese international scored the winning goal in the Premier League champions’ 2-1 win over Sheffield United on Saturday evening. Jota’s strike – his second for the club – saw the Reds go joint-top of the standings in England.

Elsewhere, Portugal U19 international forward Marcos Paulo struck for Fluminense in their win over Santos in Brazil, while Flávio Paixão and Lucas João continued their strong goalscoring starts to the campaign in Poland and England’s Championship respectively.

Jota’s 64th-minute winner for Liverpool gave them a 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Anfield after the hosts had initially gone behind. The former Porto man rose to head in Sadio Mane’s cross from the left, showing his increasing versatility in positioning and finishing ability in the air to set Liverpool on their way to a welcome three points after two matches without a win in the league.

Speaking after the match, Jota’s boss Klopp was glowing in his assessment of the recent acquisition from Wolves. “It is not too much about what he’s brought in the team,” he began. “He is a good player, that’s why we signed him. I said it only a few minutes ago when I was speaking with my coaches that it is so easy – he is such a likeable person and so it is so easy to like him. That makes everything easier.

“Then the player he is: he is quick, he has the physicality, he is strong, he is good in the air, he is good on the ground... a lot of good things. He has exactly the quality we need, so that helps a lot.

"The future is bright"

“He is still adapting. At the moment, a lot of things we do are not natural to him but that’s only because Wolves play different – but a lot of things he did for Wolves are exactly what we want him to do. Yes, that he is that close already is just a sign how good a player he is. As I said, if he stays fit, he’s 23 and the future is bright. We will need his quality and I am really happy that he settled nicely so far.”

For his part, Jota added: “Like I said before when I scored my first one, I just wish these stands could be full to make it even more special. But I think in the end the most important [thing] was that my goal was important to seal the victory, so I’m very pleased with that.”

Marcos Paulo goal caps Fluminense win

Another Portugal talent earning the praise of his coach is Marcos Paulo, who came off the bench to scoring the clinching goal in Fluminense’s 3-1 win over Santo in Brazil. The 19-year-old entered the action at half time with the score level at 1-1, and an impressive display was capped with Marcos Paulo on-hand to score the final goal from close range.

Brazil’s largest media outlet Globo issued Marcos Paulo 7/10 in their match ratings. The goal was the youngster’s first in Brasileirão this term and his coach Odair Hellmann was asked about the effect the showing could have during moving forwards. “Attackers need goals for confidence and Marcos Paulo is no different,” Odair said. “He is a promising young player, an excellent boy, an exceptional player. 

“Perhaps in wide is attack is where we have the most options with different attributes. And I have used these players at different times. Marcos Paulo is part of this process. I'm glad he scored the goal for his confidence. Glad it was at that important moment in the game.”

Although born and raised in Brazil, Marcos Paulo represents Portugal at youth level having played six times for the U19 side last year. Among his most notable moments so far is a goal against England for Portugal at last summer’s Toulon Tournament held in France.

The rest: João, Paixão continue to shine

Lucas João has been one of the standout forward players in the English Championship so far, and the ex Nacional man scored from the penalty spot this weekend as Reading beat Rotherham 3-0 at home to move five points clear at the top of the table. João, 27, has four goals from six appearances so far in the league, as well as a hat-trick during the early stages of the Carabao Cup.

Also in strong goalscoring form is veteran striker Flávio Paixão, who scored a second-half penalty in Poland to earn Lechia Gdansk a 1-1 draw at Zaglebie Lubin. Paixão, who is the all-time leading foreign goalscorer in Polish top flight football, has five goals in his last four appearances in the Ekstraklasa, where he demonstrates little sign of slowing down at the age of 36.

Elsewhere, former Varzim midfielder Tiago Alves joined Paixão in striking in the Polish top tier with a goal for Piast Gliwice in their 2-2 draw against Wisla Plock. Dinis Almeida scored his third goal from defence in the last six games for Lokomotiv Plovdiv in Bulgaria as they won 3-0 at Tsarsko Selo, while in Switzerland Nuno da Silva’s goal helped FC Thun beat Kriens 3-0.

By Sean Gillen

@SeanGillen9