Diogo Jota fires back at Alan Shearer over 'diver' claims in Liverpool win vs Newcastle

Liverpool star Diogo Jota has hit back at Alan Shearer after the pundit accused him of diving against Newcastle.

Jurgen Klopp's side beat Newcastle 4-2 at Anfield on New Year's Day, but the goal that put the result beyond doubt came about in controversial circumstances.

With Liverpool leading 3-2 with less than five minutes remaining, Jota was felled by Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and the hosts were awarded a penalty.

While there was slight contact from the Slovakian, Jota took a few steps before going down, even though he appeared to have a chance of slotting the ball into the empty net.

Mohamed Salah converted the resulting spot-kick and Liverpool claimed a 4-2 victory. Newcastle's players weren't happy with the decision, and neither was Magpies legend Alan Shearer.

The Premier League's all-time top goalscorer tweeted at the time: "F***ing embarrassing."

The 53-year-old continued to fume on The Rest Is Football podcast. He said: "Yeah, he f***ing dived. Pretty simple. That is as clear a dive you will ever see.

"There was a tiny bit of contact, but he could have just stayed on his feet and tapped it in."

Ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Sunday, Portuguese attacker Jota responded to the criticism he has received.

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"Listen, of course I saw some comments from ex-players and people who are paid to talk about situations," he said.

"The only thing I can say is even the keeper said it was a touch and I didn’t feel the conditions to stay up. So that’s it.

Would I rather put the ball in the net than see Mo [Salah] take a penalty? Yes, of course. That’s what I like to do – to score goals. That’s all I have to say."

After the incident, Newcastle goalkeeper Dubravka said: "I tried to pull my arms and not catch him. I felt the contact but I don’t know what else I should do. In the end it was a penalty, so there’s no point in arguing with them."

With Manchester City enjoying the weekend off, Liverpool could extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points if they beat Andoni Iraola's side in the 16:30 GMT kick-off.