‘Best substitution of all time’ – Liverpool stars instantly combine for record-breaking goal
Yesterday at 04:53 PM
Arne Slot has been hailed after his double substitution of Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas instantly paid off against Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool had trailed to Chris Wood’s first half goal at the City Ground.
With his side still trailing beyond the hour mark, Slot turned to his bench to turn the match around.
In a double change, Tsimikas and Jota were introduced in place of Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate.
The decision paid off just 22 seconds later, with Liverpool already having a corner waiting to be taken.
Tsimikas’ left-footed delivery was nodded in at the back post by Jota in both players’ first touch since coming on.
In scoring, Jota made Liverpool history with their fastest Premier League goal by a substitute since such records were kept in 2006.
Fans were left stunned by the efficiency of Slot’s tactical switch on social media.
Reacting to the goal, one supporter asked: “Has Arne Slot just made the best double substitution in history?”
Meanwhile, another wrote: “That is the best substitution of all time!”
The goal proved to be the decider in the match, with neither side able to find a winner in the remaining 24 minutes.
As a result, Liverpool maintain their six-point lead over Forest at the top of the table.
Meanwhile, the Reds are seven points clear of Arsenal and 10 ahead of fourth place Chelsea.
Jota’s header was his seventh career goal against Forest and took his tally for the season to eight goals in 19 appearances.
It is also the forward’s second goal in three league matches after scoring against West Ham last month.
The Portugal international’s cameo off the bench comes after he found the net in Saturday’s FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley.
As for Tsimikas, it is his second assist of the campaign, with his previous one also coming from a corner.
The full-back crossed for Virgil van Dijk to head home against AC Milan back in September.
