Jota was lucky to see the ball hit the net for Celtic after he miscued a strike to make it 2-0 vs Aberdeen.
The Hoops romped past the Dons in a 5-1 hammering and their superstar from Portugal was the man to add to Daizen Maeda’s slick volley opener.
Callum McGregor, Yang and then a second Maeda strike sealed the points on an evening where rampant Celtic were somehow left “unhappy” at the break despite a 3-0 half-time lead.
Jota’s goal may not have been the cleanest of finishes from the 25-year-old but it came from an exhilarating counter which left the visitors stunned at the back.
Jota talked Sky Sports through his goal vs Aberdeen
And the wide player was beaming that he was able to find the net again for his club.
Arne Engels squared when Jota expected him to shoot himself, but it worked out.
“It was just a matter of finding the right guy on the play and Arne was in the right spot and could see me,” he said when talking Sky Sports’ Luke Shanley through the goal.
“I was happy it could end that way and just happy overall for the win.
“Like Arne said, not the best performance in the first-half but we could correct some stuff and be ourselves again.”
Jota expected Arne Engels to shoot for Celtic but he passed
The Sky reporter than asked Jota specifically what he thought when the ball left his foot as it trickled awkwardly into the back of the net to scunner Jimmy Thelin.
And he admitted that he was not even expecting to receive the ball from his Belgian teammate as he expected Engels to take a shot when he found himself in the ideal position to do so.
“I don’t know, the play asks for different things and in that moment when the ball came back I just said, ‘Okay, I’m going for it’,” Jota added.
| Jota Celtic stats, 2024/5 so far |
| Matches played: 8 |
| Goals: 3 |
| Assists: 1 |
“But I genuinely thought he was going to shoot, to be fair.”
Jota’s return to Glasgow has been near-perfect so far.
The attacker cried tears of joy after scoring his first goal at Fir Park vs Motherwell upon his comeback to Scottish football.
That brought his haul up from his initial stint and he has only added to that further this term since January.
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