Jota Al Ittihad, the Celtic hero, scores his first goal and silences his critics.

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After scoring a goal against al-Fateh to continue his Al-Ittihad redemption, Jota seemed to be sending a message.

The former Celtic winger was pulled in from cold storage by his new manager, Marcelo Gallardo, and has now returned to league play for his squad. Weeks after spending a cool £25 million to sign the player from the Hoops, former manager Nuno Espirito Santo maxed out their foreign player quota with other choices and failed to register the player for the Saudi Pro League.

However, following the management switch, he was officially registered and has played in the previous two games, starting the next game after playing 32 minutes off the bench against Al-Okhdood.In a 4-2 victory, Jota repaid his boss’s faith with one goal and one assist.

After hitting a low shot into the bottom corner, he was surrounded by his ecstatic teammates and allowed to celebrate with the crowd.

After joining the subs on the bench to celebrate, he turned to face the camera with a broad smile that he accentuated with a few finger stretches.

It seemed to be a reaction to rumors flying around about his whereabouts and that he wasn’t enjoying himself in Jeddah after the registration fiasco.

He was mentioned in relation to returning to Europe, particularly the Premier League, where Ange Postecoglou was rumored to be eager for a reunion with Tottenham, West Ham, and Newcastle.

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