Diogo Jota has already made a solid claim to become part of a new Liverpool 'Fab Four' just five weeks after arriving at Anfield.
The Portugal international is averaging a goal every other Premier League game after his header in the 2-1 win over Sheffield United made it two in four since a £45 million ($58.7m) deal brought him to the club from Wolves last month.
He was deployed as the right-sided forward in a 4-2-3-1 system as Jurgen Klopp fielded all his main attackers together for the first time.
It conjured up memories of the manager's original 'Fab Four' when Philippe Coutinho played alongside Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane before he joined Barcelona.
"It is not too much about what he's brought in the team. He is a good player, that's why we signed him," said Klopp.
"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.
"Yes, Diogo scored a super goal and was really involved in the game. He can be much better, 100 per cent, and that's good news."
The changed formation meant Salah was pushed into a central striking role with Firmino, their other goalscorer on the night, behind him and Mane in his usual left-wing position.
Klopp insists he did not change his tactics in order to shoehorn Jota into the team but that it was a reflection of the depth of options he had at his disposal.
"It was a game where all four played up front together [but] it was not so much about getting Diogo on the pitch because he can play a lot of positions in our usual formation," said the manager.
"Mo and Sadio didn't score but played outstanding. Sadio was, in the one-on-one situations, pretty much undefendable. Mo between the lines, sensational.
"And you know how good [Xherdan] Shaqiri was in Amsterdam [in the Champions League win over Ajax] and he is close; Taki [Takumi Minamino] is very close and so all these things help.
"This is the area where we have in the moment options and long may it stay like this."
The success of that front-four combination helped turn around a game in which Sheffield United took the lead from a 13th-minute Sander Berge penalty after VAR had upgraded a Fabinho challenge on the edge of the area from a free-kick to a penalty.
Klopp disputed whether the tackle was even a foul, ignoring the margin for error on the millimetres involved for video assistant Andre Marriner to decide it was inside the area.
Firmino tapped home the equaliser just before half-time after Mane's header was parried and Jota rose highest in the 64th minute to nod home the Senegal international's cross.
It extended Liverpool's unbeaten home league run to 62 matches, one short of equalling the club record between 1978 and 1981.
They had to do it this time without injured defensive talisman Virgil van Dijk and at the end of a demanding week in which they drew 2-2 at Everton and ground out a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League.
"A tough week obviously – a lot of games, a lot of minutes, tough opponents, hard-fighting opponents," Klopp said.
"[We] won the two matches after the Merseyside derby, so really pleased with that, obviously.
"We didn't score [the third goal] so the game stayed open and they had their moments, but we defended well with a big heart. And so I liked it."
_________________________________________________
Gallery: Everton 2 Liverpool 2
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Midnights'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Taylor%20Swift%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Republic%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
ABU DHABI CARD
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
Facebook | Our website | Instagram
More coverage from the Future Forum
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
