Jota sparks Al Ittihad fan fury after Celtic hero’s benched but silky cameo sparks Mo Salah dream
dailyrecord.co.ukThe decision to bench him provided a raft of fan anger – but Jota still made his Al Ittihad presence known during a cameo debut in the Saudi Pro League.Celtic sold the Portuguese winger in a deal worth £25m earlier this summer but already there have been rampaging rumours that he could immediately be farmed out on loan to Al Shabab.
Jota is one of a number of high-profile stars from Europe to move to the Middle East but Nuno Espirito Santos' decision to bench his countryman provided pre-match anger from the Tigers support.One said, "If Jota is not needed, why do you contract with him" and another admitted, "They brought Jota to sit on the bench?" Another put the boot in further to the Al Ittihad boss, asking "Jota starts this season back up.
Nuno Santo what's going on?" But soon a resounding second half was put on against Al Raed with the Celtic favourite involved from the bench, showing silky flicks and goal build-up involvementAbderrazak Hamdallah – who started ahead of the former Benfica man alongside Romarinho – put his side ahead.
Igor Cornado doubled the lead and then a Jota corner was cleared, only to find its way back to the Brazilian who notched his brace to make it 3-0 on the day.The sub appearance from their new signing from Glasgow turned heads, even in a short 15-minute burst.
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