Jota has stolen all the Celtic headlines this week after his debut goal against Motherwell.
The Scottish press has run with many headlines over the past 24 hours as Jota’s emotional Celtic debut was capped off with a superb late goal as the Hoops beat Motherwell 3-1 at Fir Park.
Celtic fans were blown away by the return of their hero but for Jota, the goal sparked incredible scenes at Motherwell the Hoops winger is unlikely to forget any time soon.
But what the 26-year-old goal also did was trigger more headlines in his homeland as Portugal’s press reacted to Jota’s last-minute strike in Celtic’s 20th win of the season.
Portugal’s media blown away by Jota’s ’emotional’ Celtic debut
As the headlines lit up in Scotland about Jota’s Celtic return, Portugal’s media also praised the winger for his emotional debut in the Scottish Premiership win.
Abola: “The Portuguese scored on his return to the Scots, was emotional during the celebrations and then celebrated the victory with the fans.”
MaisFutebol: “Jota was much loved this Sunday in a place where he was once happy – at Celtic in Glasgow.
“In his first game after his permanent return to the club, after a lacklustre first half of the season at Rennes in France, Jota scored and celebrated with the fans at the end of the game.”
Record: “Jota makes dream return to Celtic: came on in the 2nd half and scored in injury time. It couldn’t have been a better return!
“Back at Celtic after a less successful spell in Saudi Arabia and France, Jota made a dream comeback by scoring the third goal in the win over Motherwell. Having been brought on in the second half, in the 65th minute, the Portuguese forward scored in the 90’+4 and couldn’t hide his joy.”
What Jota has previously said about his iconic Celtic goal celebration
Jota’s iconic goal celebration returned as well to Celtic Park the minute the Portuguese winger agreed to come back to Glasgow.
But many Celtic fans might not know what sparked the inspiration behind his famous goal-scoring pose.
Jota explained it back in 2023 after being awarded the Celtic Goal of The Season vs Rangers. The attacker said at the time, “He [the late Portuguese legend Fernando Chalana] was definitely someone who believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself.
“That says a lot of such a quality player because he saw something [in me] and I just stick with his ideas.
“Like, he said to me, ‘son, just be different from everyone else because football is becoming something really not interesting, and the ones who are going to thrive and to be better are the ones who do different stuff and can solve problems when no-one can solve them’.
“So, I just stick with those ideas. Inside the philosophy of the game, of course. And I try to express myself in the best way possible.”
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