At Liverpool’s first game since their deaths, Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva were honored.
Jota & Silva, a professional football player who played for Portugal and Liverpool, perished in a car accident in the Spanish province of Zamora on July 3.
The Liverpool club anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone and Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love were played with emotion before the Reds’ first preseason match at Preston North End.
Ben Whiteman, the captain of Preston, lay a wreath in front of the traveling Liverpool fans during the latter, and he was clearly distraught.
As the players left before a meticulously maintained minute’s silence, the away end, adorned with flags and scarves honoring the former Porto and Wolves striker, noisily sung Jota’s song.
The audience erupted into another performance of Jota’s song at the beginning of the twentieth minute.
When Conor Bradley gave Liverpool the lead, there was a subdued celebration, and the full-back was gazing up at the sky as he made his way back to his spot.
Darwin Nunez, a striker, scored the second goal for the Reds and honored Jota by participating in two of her celebrations in front of the Liverpool supporters.
After scoring the third goal in a 3-1 victory, Cody Gakpo did the same, raising his fingers to indicate Jota’s squad number, 20, at Liverpool.
Jota hoisting the Premier League trophy was depicted in black and white on the match program, which also included tributes to the Liverpool star and his brother.
At 20:20 BST on Friday, Liverpool announced that Jota’s number 20 shirt will no longer be worn in any part of the team.
“If we want to laugh, we laugh; if we want to cry, we’re going to cry,” Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said in his first interview after Jota’s passing to Liverpool TV.
“They can train if they so want, and they cannot train if they do not. However, don’t think you have to be someone you’re not because of what your feelings tell you.
No matter where we go, we will never leave him out of our hearts or minds.
Jota helped Liverpool win the Premier League last season and the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022 with 65 goals in 182 games.
On June 8, he played his last game for Portugal as they defeated Spain in the Nations League final. In 49 international matches, he scored 14 goals.
Jota and his brother perished when their Lamborghini, which was overtaking another car, went off the road owing to a tyre burst, the Guardia Civil informed BBC Sport.
In order for Jota to return to Liverpool for preseason training, the brothers had been traveling to the Spanish port of Santander.
‘Very proud’ of the players, emotional Liverpool supporters
In actuality, thousands of Liverpool supporters traveled to Deepdale to honor Jota and Silva and to support the players and coaching staff, even though they were there to watch their club play in their opening game of the new season.
Before kickoff, the Bill Shankly Kop’s enthusiastic supporters sang Jota’s name. They continued to do so throughout the game, and in the 20th minute, Preston fans joined in, standing and clapping in time.
In an effort to show their support for a player whose perseverance, ability to score crucial goals in crucial games, and outgoing personality made him one of the most well-liked players throughout the team’s recent run of success under Slot and Jurgen Klopp, supporters brought whatever they could.
Jane, a Liverpool supporter, stated, “I feel very emotional,” while sporting a personalized Jota T-shirt. “I feel very proud of my team and all the tributes they’ve put together.”
Mathew, a fan, shared with me the difficulty he had in telling his young children about Jota’s passing.
He remarked, “It has been really difficult,” “My seven-year-old just started crying when I told him about it the morning it happened. He finds it really difficult to comprehend.
“I feel gutted,” remarked Mathew’s 15-year-old son Rafael, who is named after Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, who won the Champions League. However, Liverpool is a family, and we have all joined together to properly pay our respects.”
You’ll Never Walk Alone, Liverpool’s song, has played a variety of roles throughout the club’s history, during both triumphant and tragic moments, but it has never been sung precisely this fashion or for quite this purpose.
Playing without him for the first time will have been just one of many significant phases of the players’ mourning, but the way it was yelled this afternoon showed the depth of emotion for a football player who is loved by his club’s supporters.
Few football games have been as significant as this one, but even fewer have been filled with as much passion, significance, and love from those who made sure they were present to play their role.