Liverpool played their first game since Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva tragically died in a car accident.
Arne Slot and his Liverpool players stood and watched. It felt like they might gaze until the sun started setting on a barmy summer’s afternoon in Lancashire. They were simultaneously crestfallen yet moved by what they were witnessing.
In truth, Kopites were not going to stop serenading Diogo Jota. The chants of the striker’s name would not relent until they had the message to do so.
It was always going to be an emotional day. Slot, his squad and the supporters are still mourning the loss of the highly-popular Portuguese. The tens of thousands of tributes that have been made since Jota and his brother’s tragic passing in a car accident underline that.
Jota might not have had the world-class quality of a Mo Salah. He may not have had the dominant presence of Virgil van Dijk. But he had the aura of a player whom so many supporters could relate to. Jota was a down-to-earth, humble character who did not have a conventional pathway to the upper echelons. He had to battle his way to the top - and that showed in how he played when donning the red shirt. Not only did he have craft and guile but industry and steel.
It’s why his name was chanted on so many occasions during his 182 appearances for Liverpool - especially after the 62 goals he scored. It’s why it was recited with gusto before, during and after Liverpool’s pre-season win over Preston North End. It will continue for years to come.
After the 3-1 win over Preston, who displayed the utmost class throughout the day to ensure Jota was commemorated how he deserved to be, again showed a tribute to Jota and Andre on the big screen at Deepdale. The Liverpool fans in the Bill Shankly Kop Stand might not have known, but they were displaying their own way of remembering Jota by belting out his song. It went on for at least five minutes. Probably longer.
The entire Liverpool squad simply stared. A few slowly clapped along. It was going to be never-ending before Van Dijk, who had been consoling Darwin Nunez, stepped forward and thanked the 5,700 fans in the Bill Shankly Kop End. They cheered back before the players slowly started making their way towards the tunnel at the other end of the pitch.
In doing so, another chant was sung. ‘Champions’ were the words repeated. It’s easy to forget that Liverpool have a Premier League title to defend. That has been the last thing on everyone’s mind over the past nine days. Football has been forgotten about.
But after the opening friendly of the summer, it was a reminder that Liverpool’s bid for a record 21st English championship starts in a month’s time. The greatest way that the Reds can honour Jota is to go and create history by becoming the most successful club in the land in terms of titles.
The 90 minutes of action against Championship side Preston was little more than an exercise to dust away the cobwebs. Slot’s troops only returned five days prior. But there were encouraging signs, with summer signing Milos Kerkez catching the eye at left-back, as well as Giorgi Mamardashvili and Jeremie Frimpong making debuts. Ryan Gravenberch was as comfortable as ever in the middle of the park, while 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha was electric in the first half. There is still Florian Wirtz to make his bow after not being involved against the Lilywhites.
Now the message will be clear as Liverpool start to step up their preparations. Do it for Diogo.
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