Preston [UK], July 13 (ANI): Liverpool returned to the field for the first time since the tragic demise of their star player Diogo Jota on Sunday and players and fans alike paid a tribute to the deceased footballer during the pre-season clash against Preston North End, which The Reds won 3-1.
Supporters, staff and players came together during the match at Deepdale, paying a homage to the late Portugal striker and his brother Andre Silva, as per Goal.com.
Before the match start, Ben Whiteman, the Preston skipper, laid a wreath in front of travelling fans from Liverpool and both teams observed a minute of silence in rememberence of Jota. Black armbands were on player’s arms and an emotional rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” echoed around the stadium before the kickoff.
During the game, Liverpool fans chanted Jota’s name and waves flags reading “forever our number 20”. Conor Bradley (33) gave Liverpool the lead, During the second half of the match, Darwin Nunez scored in the 53rd minute and did the late footballer’s ‘gaming celebration’ to pay tribute.
Liverpool fans filled the away end with chants of Jota’s name and waved flags that read ‘forever our number 20,’ while songs referencing Jota’s standing above Portugal legend Luis Figo rang out even before the first whistle. During the second half of the clash, Darwin Nunez scored the Reds’ second goal and paid his own tribute by performing Jota’s ‘gaming’ celebration.
While Liam Lindsay scored for the home side in 83rd minute, Cody Gakpo removed any threats whatsoever with an 88th minute strike.
Earlier this week, Liverpool confirmed that Jota’s shirt number will be retired and the remainder of his contract will be paid to his family.
Coming to Jota, he died in a car accident on July 3 in Spain at the age of 28. At the time of the accident, Jota was with his brother in the car, as reported by Sky Sports.J
Jota began his football career in his hometown of Porto in Portugal, where he played for the Pacos de Ferreira academy before joining Atletico Madrid in the Spanish League in 2016. However, he never played for Atletico Madrid and later returned to Porto on loan. In 2018, the Portuguese player was signed by the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, also known as Wolves, and for the next two years, he was under the fellow Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
In September 2020, Jota was signed by another Premier League club, Liverpool. With the Reds, he won this season’s Premier League 2024-25 title. He was also part of the Liverpool squad that lost to Real Madrid 1-0 in the 2021/22 Champions League final, where he came on as a substitute. For Liverpool, the player featured in 26 games this season and scored six goals.Jota made his debut for the Portugal national team in November 2019 and featured in the Euro 2022 and 2024 for his national side.
However, he was not part of the squad during the FIFA World Cup 2022, as he was out injured. Recently, in May this year, Jota was part of the Portugal side which won the UEFA Nations League, defeating Spain in penalties and winning their second Nations League title. (ANI)
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